10 things to do in your first month as a School Psychologist

It's almost that time!  Your either reading this and dreading the end of summer, or you've had boxes of school supplies piled up and ready to move into your office for weeks.

I sometimes get emails from new school psychologist or students with lots of questions.  Sometimes I feel like that was just me.  Other times I can't even remember how many years I've been working for.

I wanted to share some tips for those brand spankin' new School Psychs today...rock it, you guys!

*Just a note-I have learned so much from online communities of School Psychologists throughout the US.  I know our roles vary significantly.  Mine is based on an elementary position, 1 building role.

Your To Do List:

Mark your Space:  Maybe it's a picture of your dog, a family portrait, a sweet card a former student or coworker made you, mark your new office (space) with something that will make you smile.

Get yourself a calendar:  To this day, one of the first things I do each year is print of the district calendar and transfer it to my outlook (where I keep everything, I don't use a paper planner).  You'll need this for a myriad of different reasons, everything from knowing your first vacation day, to your first PD after school session.

Meet & Greet the building:  My mother, who is an elementary teacher, gave me great advice when I first started by job.  She told me to make friends with my coworkers-put out a bowl of candy, and offer them help.  So, my first day of working ever as a school psych, I spent moving around furniture in the special education classroom.  Grab a new minutes with your principal/supervisor, definitely see the secretary and custodian, and walk through the halls to say hello to the teachers.

Find out who you will be working with:  After you've done a general "hello!", spend time with the staff you will be working closely with-the special education teachers, the school social worker, the nurse.  Then, find out how you know the students you will work with.  Once you know the students, you can meet their teachers, start reading their plans, etc.

Figure out what your role is:  HAHAHAHA.  I laugh, because I truly think the job of a school psychologist is never-ending.  A few years ago one of my supervisors had all the psychologists write down our roles on a piece of paper.  I kid you not, there were like 30 by the time we all shared out and remembered all of the things we do each day!  Anyway, get from your supervisor a general understanding of your role.  Do you do all the counseling?  What population of students do you work with?  Do you have any role in school climate?  What about general education initiatives?  Are there certain meetings you attend every week?  Things will pop up along the way, but the more you know at the beginning, the better.

Take Inventory:  I've been to a school where I had nothing except some leftover wooden blocks and protocols well beyond their years, and I've been to one with an excess of social skills games that I will never use.  Take inventory of what you have (activities, test kits, books), and make note of what you need.  You don't need it all at once, and you probably don't even know all of what you need now, but it helps to get a list started.

Collaborate:  Whether you work in a small or large district, there are most likely other school psychs. My collaboration with other psychs in my district has varied, from constant, fun and friendly emails, to reaching out only when we have specific questions.  Either way, find out who your colleagues are, and say hello...you will definitely need their help at one point or another.

Figure out a system for note taking and lists:  You will be taking a lot of notes as a School Psychologist-notes at meetings, notes from phone calls, notes you feverishly jot on a post it note while running down the hall after a student...Find a system that works for you.  Also, find a way that you will write down notes on what you have to do...are you a paper or electronic person?  It doesn't have a be a system that works forever, just one that works for you now.

Set limits on home vs. work:  This one is tricky.  My first year, and probably most of my second, I decided I would do whatever I needed to finish my job at work.  I didn't bring much work home, but I was at work an hour early everyday, and left between 5-6.  Oh, and I had an hour commute.  Before you get into the year, set limits for yourself on what you want your home/life balance to look like.  It probably won't look perfect, but you have the rest of your career to figure it out.

What advice do you other School Psychs have for "survival'?

5 activities to start off the year!

It comes with as much excitement as it does impending stress of the morning routine of getting yourself and your family out the door and to school on time (no, just me?)...the start of the school year!

This year comes with some significant changes for me, so I wanted to keep some things consistent, and I am planning to use some of my "go to" activities for the beginning of the year.  I thought I would share them with you all today.

At the start of the year, I run all of my "first" groups/sessions the same way:

1.  A quick introduction/catch up (Because you NEED to know how a 3rd grader's first sleep away camp experience was ASAP!!)
2.  A review of expected behaviors & group structure
3.  A review of my reward system
4.  A fun activity to kick off the year!  Here are my favorites that require little prep:

1.  Create art to share about summer
For my youngest students, I ask them to draw a picture of their summer, or have them fill out a very general activity like this one.  This works for kids who are hesitant to talk or share, at first, as well.

2.  A "Getting to Know You" board game
I love a good "Getting to know you" board game.  I have a bunch of blank game boards that I use, and pick a bunch of "getting to know you" questions.  Kids roll a dice, and then answer a question about themselves before they can move.  One secret I discovered last year: letting kids pick a lego figure instead of boring old game pieces makes any board game 1000x more exciting!

3.  Turn a board game into a sharing game
I also use "getting to know you" questions with typical board games such as Jenga or Candyland (here is a key I made for this game)

4.  "All About Me" Art
This all about me activity is my favorite.  I use it with 2nd graders and older and over the course of a few sessions.  I like it because it's cartoon-ish, and lends itself to drawing or writing.  This also gives me a few talking points for students making "connections" with each other later in the year.  Here is a more basic one for younger kiddos as well.

5.  2 Truths and a Dream
This one is fun for a "larger" (3+ students), and a group who is older, or a student who could use some support in telling the truth.  You model, and then have each student take turns telling three things about themselves-two that are true now, and then one that is a dream.  So I might say, "I have two daughters, this summer I traveled to Italy for a month, and I woke up at 4:45 this morning.  Which one is my dream and which are truths?"

What do you do during your first sessions of the year?