Skype Interview + Change!

I was recently asked to do an interview for Marissa Rex, creator of ElementarySchoolCounseling.org.  When Marissa got in touch with me I was so excited since I regularly read her blog.  Marissa shares TONS of great ideas, resources, videos, etc. so be sure to take a look.  You can check out my skype interview here!  I had a great time answering questions and sharing my story and I am now looking forward to collaborating with Marissa and her students in Ohio!  We will keep you posted on what we decide to do from across the pond.

Sharing my journey with others has really got me thinking...  Ten, five or even two years ago if you had asked me if I saw myself moving to Europe my answer would have been, "no way!"  I never in a million years thought I would be blogging about my life and job in  London.  I am really (really) close with my family and have never seen myself as much of a risk taker.  Like many of you out there, I was always so comfortable in my routine and never thought much about change.  Sometimes I feel like I am dreaming and have to remind myself that this is all real.

Well, one and a half years later I am sitting here at my flat in London and as I reflect I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity and I am so thankful that we decided to make this change in our lives.  I have to be honest and can't take all of the credit for the big move we made, that can mostly go to my husband who planted this seed many, many times.  I am just so glad that I finally warmed up to the idea and gave it a shot.  Having family and friends visit us has helped lots.  We hope to have many more visitors in the months to come!  ;)

Transitions

If I had to pick one word to best describe my responsibilities as an international school counsellor it would have to be, transitions.  I work with a very transient community and spend so much of my time every single day working with families through their transitions.  Students are constantly coming and going.  At the start of this school year I welcomed 100 new families starting pre-k to grade 5!  Throughout the school year many more students will join us and many will leave us.  

When I spoke to the pervious school counsellor at my school she suggested I purchase a book to read before my arrival.  The book she recommended was, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken.  Here is an image of the book cover:

I immediately began reading and I am so glad that I did.  The term Third Culture Kids started being used over ten years ago but was something I didn't know anything about.  So many of my students were born in one place and moved to another or several other places.  The combination of the cultures of all of these places is where the idea of a third culture comes from.  So many children are growing up among multiple worlds and there is lots to learn about how we can work together to support them.

After attending last years ECIS annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal I connected with other international school counsellors and learned how they were working with their TCK's.  I loved this trailer for the TCK film and can't wait for it to be released.  Have a look!

I went to a workshop presented by Laura Cowan, Middle School Counsellor at Shanghai American School and loved her documentary on Third Culture Kids.  Laura asked some of her TCK students some basic questions about both the challenges and rewards of being a TCK.  She also asked students how educators and parents can best support them through their transitions.  What they shared was so insightful.  We can learn so much about TCK's if we just take the time to listen to them.  Take a few minutes to listen to her student's perspectives on things!

Laura let me borrow her video to share with the parents at my school.  I used this prezi at a PIM (parent information meeting) on TCK's.  Last year I filmed my students that were moving on to new schools and other TCK's to create my own documentary about their experiences living among different cultures.  I am still working on piecing everything together (it is my first documentary) and look forward to sharing the final product with you soon!  

Every time there is a new student I am amazed at how helpful our students are.  They do everything they can to make the new student feel welcome and they are so great at helping them to fit right in.  New students get paired with a buddy and lots of times they will email with their buddy before they even arrive!   I always meet the student on their first day at school and usually have a student that already knows me well introduce me to them by explaining what I do at our school.   After they have had a few days to settle in I have a welcome lunch bunch group.  Students invite a few friends to join them and in a relaxed setting we get to know one another a little better.  I have a large map in my room that we use to share with one another where we were born and where else we have lived.  I just wrote a grant for a large velcro world map and a magnetic one, we would definitely put them to use.  Lots of times students feel relieved when they find out that other students in the group have also lived in a few different places.  They will naturally start to ask one another questions about their old friends and previous schools and they offer one another advice.   This year new students received a 'new student survival kit' with lots of symbolic items in it.  They have been a hit!  Lots of parents have called or stopped me  to let me know how much their child appreciated it and how cute they thought it was.  I will attach the letters that go in the survival kit as well as the objects and their meaning as soon as I get on my work computer.

Students that are getting ready to move on to a new school are always invited to a goodbye lunch bunch.  Each classroom teacher also has a special tradition for saying goodbye.  Last year I invited students that were leaving to help me create a special book.  They had the opportunity to leave something behind that would be helpful for new students joining us in the years to come.  The cover of the book says, "While you are at ACS Hillingdon be sure to..." and each student decorated a page.   Each page was unique and my new students this year have LOVED reading the advice that was left for them.  I plan to continue this tradition and make a new book each year.  When a new family comes to visit I'd love to be able to send a book home for them to borrow.  I like the idea of the family reading it together before they actually start at our school.  Some advice left was to make as many friends as you can, try the cookies in the cafeteria, go to the London Eye and Big Ben, travel as much as you can, eat at Pizza Express and Wagamama, keep calm and carry on, be yourself, if you have a problem talk to Mrs. Seaberg, keep in touch with your friends and family that you left and go to Legoland.  I give lots of advice to students but there is just something special about students helping other students!

In general, when I meet someone for the first time we often get to know one another better by asking some basic questions; What's your name?  Where are you from?  What do you do for work?  I quickly learned not to ask anyone I meet where they are from.  I learned that lots of people can't answer that question because they have lived in several different countries or they were born in one place and only lived there for a short time and have lived in several other places since.  Lots of my students don't have a place they call home. 

So, if you are thinking about working as a school counsellor in an international school my advice is to do some research on Third Culture Kids and don't ask your students where they are from.  Just ask where they were born and where else they have lived!  I hope to pick up some new ideas on ways I can support my families and students that are transitioning at the upcoming ECIS conference.  If there is anything you do to help your TCK's please comment below and share!

Cheers!

ECIS

ECIS (European Council of International Schools) is an organization that has incredible professional development opportunities, especially for those of us working in international schools.  I was lucky enough to attend the annual conference last November in Lisbon, Portugal and I am looking forward to attending this years annual conference in just a few days in Nice, France!

I am wondering if any other school counsellors out there are also planning to attend?!  Let me know...

This year I will be participating in the 'Introducing Mindfulness Into International Schools' pre-conference with Chris Cullen, Co-Founder of the Mindfulness in Schools Project.  Here is what it's all about (stay tuned for more):

Mindfulness is 'present moment awareness', and there's now considerable and 

compelling evidence that training in mindfulness is a very effective way of alleviating 

stress, anxiety and depression as well as promoting well-being and flourishing. This 

experiential workshop will provide an introduction to the theory and the practice of 

mindfulness, and will consider the growing evidence base for benefits that it offers for 

teachers and pupils. There will also be an introduction to the '.b' ['Stop & Breathe'] 

mindfulness curriculum for secondary schools that has been developed by the UK-based 

Mindfulness in Schools Project, in collaboration with Cambridge, Oxford and Exeter 

Universities.

I look forward to learning more about the International Model for School Counselling, which is based on the ASCA National Model.  I hope to take some ideas back to my school to continue to develop our international school counselling program.  I will also be at the interest group for guidance and counseling and some of the following workshops:

Students in Transition, Neither Here Nor There- A Third Culture Kid Documentary for the Classroom and Beyond, Exploring Student Transition in the Context of the Corporate Overseas Assignment, The Fine Line Between Counseling and Special Education: Towards Closer Collaboration Part I and II and maybe an iPad class or two among many others.  

I can't wait to share with you all the things I take away from the ECIS conference!   Stay tuned for more!!!