5 Back to School Essentials for High School Counselors [Episode 84]

0:00
Hi my friend! There is a huge Counselor sale going on right now on TPT for back to school. I’ll talk a little bit more about a specific resource that you must get for High School Counselors just in this episode, but I wanted to first make sure you knew about the special sale that’s happening this week only.

0:18
Here’s how it works. Search anytime for the sale items during this week by going to bit.ly bit.ly/BTScounselors (BTS meaning back to school), or search the hashtag BTS counselors in the TPT search bar. Either of these two ways will always bring up all of the items that are for sale that day.

0:39
Monday through Thursday, you’ll find $2 deals and 50% off deals. Now, the amount of resources can feel a little overwhelming. Each TPT seller will have four resources on sale each day. Let me continue to bring some clarity to the situation.

0:55
Something that I like to do when I’m on this page of millions of resources it feels like, is to check off on the side filter your options for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade if you’re working with high school students. This will take each sellers four resources that they’re putting on sale and narrow it down to those High School resources that you are looking for.

1:15
Of course, I’ll be posting on my Instagram and Facebook which of my resources are on sale each day. I’ll have four resources on sale and I’ll share with you how I have used them and why they’ll help you out this year. Remember, the deals change every day. So if you see something you like at a price that you like, go ahead and snag it. I’ll make sure I link you to the sale and to my shop in the show notes for easy access. But I just wanted to let you know that’s going on this week. Now let’s talk about back to school essentials in this week’s episode.

1:51
You got into this profession to make a difference in your students lives. But you’re spread thin by all the things that keep getting added to your to do list. I can’t create more hours in the day. But I can invite you into my Counselor Clique where you’ll finally catch your breath. Come with me as we unpack creative ideas and effective strategies that will help you be the counselor who leaves a lifelong impact on your students. I’m Lauren Tingle your High School Counseling hype-girl, here to help you energize your school counseling program and remind you of how much you love your job.

2:23
I’m leery of saying these are the absolute essentials, these are the must haves, like I’m not going to go absolute here and say that because some of these will definitely make your life easier, and that’s just it. They’ll make your life easier. You’ll be able to make your own essentials list, I’m sure after a few years as your own school counselor in your own office.

2:43
The things you know and love that get us the most will become your favorite essentials. And only you can decide what that is for you. But whether you’re a brand spanking new counselor or you’re just looking for a refresh, let’s use this episode to get some ideas for that back-to-school life. Here are four things that I think you really should plan to have this year as a High School Counselor.

3:04
I’ve divided into four categories really and then picked a thing in each category to highlight. And when I was thinking about this episode, I started planning it out, and the four things I kind of thought this feels like when you’re getting ready for a wedding. The thing is you have to have. Smething old, something new, something borrowed something blue. You may have your own opinion, and you may form your own opinion later about the things that I have chosen, but I’d be interested to hear what you would pick from these categories if it’s not the things that I’m highlighting. So let’s get into it.

3:36
First category books, more specifically books that will help you be a better High School Counselor. Are there a ton of these out there? Yes. So this is going to depend on what your personal and your professional goals are. Are you wanting to learn more about college counseling, motivational interviewing, CBT, data collection? There are books out there for all of these things.

3:59
Here’s the book though that I want to make sure that you have this year, The ASCA National Model, Fourth Edition, which is just fancy for the newest most recent edition right now. This book is going to frame you up on what a comprehensive school counseling program can look like. If you’re a dreamer, and you have a lot of work to go, this is the inspiration that you need right here in book form.

4:21
Whether you feel like you got the training in grad school for developing that comprehensive program or not, grab this book because I think you’re gonna reference it a ton. It’s great to flip to for just something quick to answer a question or to actually read through from cover to cover and start thinking about what it may look like to turn your program into a model program. Which I assure you can be done in a High School contrary to maybe popular belief. We could talk about that on another day.

4:50
Next, I want to tell you about my favorite use every single day item. Now, I see this question asked a lot what kind of bag should I bring to school? So you probably need some sort of backpack or bag to bring folders or your computer or just your essentials back and forth.

5:09
What bag is best? Some people think bigger is better. I used to think that. I needed something that could fit everything that I needed because I don’t want to carry a lot of stuff in my hands. I used to bring my computer home all the time, or at least just in case. I didn’t use it all the time. It just felt like I needed to be bringing it back and forth to school. Or I would need it to take to a conference or a district meeting for the day. And then that often meant I needed the charger too. And let me tell you, none of this was compact, it was not tiny.

5:37
The best bag I found for this was a small backpack made by Herschel. I love the shape of it. It just it didn’t look like a regular bulky student backpack. It looks like a nice bag with a nice shape and it gives you the support you need by distributing that heavy laptop weight on your back and on two shoulders instead of one shoulder blade bringing you down.

5:59
Herschel makes all sorts of bags like travel bags and stuff so you can definitely search on their website for something that fits your style and your needs. But I’ll give you an Amazon link so that you can see the one that I have always used and loved and I still have and then you can go from there. I’ll link that in the show notes for you.

6:15
Are you looking for resources like supplies, books for PD, fidgets, and more recommendations for your office? Visit my Amazon storefront which is easily categorized for you to sort through ideas of what you may be looking for in terms of physical items for your space this upcoming school year. Visit amazon.com/shop/counselorclique to see what’s in my High School Counselor Storefront. You can also listen to Episode 32 of the podcast for back to school tips on how to use many of these items in your office. I’ll link to both of these resources in the show notes for you. Now back to today’s episode.

6:58
Next, I’m gonna go shameless plug for your new favorite use throughout the year item. This is a resource that’s going to keep supporting you over and over again throughout the year. Here’s my pick, the Cliqu Collaborative Membership. I’m currently working on a revamp of how it looks inside and I am certain you’re gonna be happy with the value that you get in this. And current members, you’re going to love the easy to navigate new members portal.

7:22
After taking a step back and looking at it from different angles and having some one on one chats with current members, I’m making some really big changes inside. You can still expect this professional development library to be just what you need for referencing your big High School Counseling topics like career counseling, small groups, advocacy, data, and so much more.

7:42
I even have the resources for you to ask your principal to pay for it. So go ahead put your name on the waitlist for doors to open mid to late August at cliquecollab.com. This will be the resource that you use over and over throughout your school year coming up.

7:57
Next is my favorite office item. I’m always going to be replenishing my post it notes, some pens that I love, highlighters that I need. I always want to have a good stapler that doesn’t jam every third time I try and staple, right. But an underrated office items specific to High School Counselors, a snack bucket.

8:16
You will have all types of students come to you for a snack. Hungry ones who don’t have anything to eat, sad ones who just need to be able to eat before they can process anything, or just regular old happy students who want to snack and chat at the same time.

8:29
I personally love having a snack bucket do for myself, you can never have too many snacks. They are something that will most definitely get used, doesn’t matter by who, counselors and students alike. There are all sorts of varieties of snack boxes that you can buy off of Amazon.

8:45
Here’s another pro tip. I would usually have this sent directly to the school addressed to me to save myself the hassle of getting it delivered to my house, then having to lift it into my car, then carrying that bulky thing into the school building. Just save yourself some steps and ship it to the school.

8:59
I’m linking you to a box with chips, cookies, candy, savory things, sweet things, just a mix of all of it. But you really can’t go wrong. You can click around on Amazon and find the one that best suits you.

9:09
Okay, I lied. There were four categories. I’m adding a fifth because I did mention that TPT sale in the beginning of the episode. So it’s only going on this week and I wanted to just at least highlight one resource that I want you to consider for this school year. It’s specific to High School Counselors and it’s the High School Counseling Planning Mega Bundle.

9:29
I want you to think about this one because it’s something that can be used year after year. Inside there’s a grade level presentation and a planning guide (that’s what I call it) for each of your grade levels, 9th, 10th 11th 12th. It covers topics relevant to that grade level. So things they need to know, things they struggle with, things on their particular timeline in High School.

9:49
Like I said, you can use it over and over again. No more scrambling at the last minute when you have a parent presentation or throwing together something real quick because you’re noticing that you’re students need a little something extra after your meetings with them. You have it already ready to go. You know they deal with a lot of the same overarching topics for each grade level. And so I’ve already done that work for you.

10:12
You can find this High School Counseling Planning Mega Bundle in the show notes. I’ve linked it there. Remember, you can also go to counselorclique.com/shop to check out everything that’s on sale on my TPT store this week for the BTS Counselor Sale.

10:26
Now, last assignment for you. If you’re a counselor who goes back to school this August, it’s your turn to leave a review. Head over to Apple Podcasts and spend 20 seconds max hitting that five star review and letting me know that you are an enthusiastic listener. I’ll see you here next week.

10:45
Thanks for listening to today’s episode of High School Counseling Conversations. All the links I talked about today can be found in the show notes and also at counselorclique.com/podcast. Be sure to hit follow wherever you listen to your podcast so that you never miss a new episode. Connect with me over on Instagram. Feel free to send me a DM @counselorclique. That’s C L I Q U E. I’ll see you next week.

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