I had an interview with someone from the ACS International School PR team and spent a lot of time answering some great questions. I thought some of you might be interested in taking a look. There is a lot of information on international mindedness. I figured I would just post all of it, so have a look and enjoy!
Please could you give me a
brief summary of your background? How long have you been a school counselor
for? What different types of schools have you worked at?
I was born and raised in Long Island, New York and always dreamed
I would one day be a teacher. It was while I was getting my undergraduate
degree in Elementary Education from SUNY New Paltz that a passion for working
in counselling began to emerge. As a result, I enrolled at Long Island
University, C.W. Post to get my masters degree in school counselling.
My first job was in an elementary school in Connecticut. I was the
only school counsellor for 1,000 students! Next we
moved to North Carolina where I worked as an elementary school counsellor for
two years. Budgets were being cut and I was getting worried about the security
of my job. I was told the last two school counsellors that were hired in our
district were the first two that would be asked to go (I was the second to last
hired). This knowledge furthered my commitment to search for international
opportunities, a process I had previously started. After a few months of
interviews, an international job fair and lots of waiting and thinking, I
finally accepted my position at ACS Hillingdon International School. My husband
and I prepared to move our entire lives (including our two cats) to the other
side of the pond all while planning our wedding. We got married in May of 2011
and I am now in my second year working as the Pre-K to Grade 5 school
counsellor at ACS Hillingdon. I couldn’t be happier!
What does your role entail?
As the Pre-K to Grade 5 School Counsellor, I work with every
student – interacting with them individually, in a small group environment,
and/or in the classroom context.
To access individual counselling, a student is referred by their
parent, teacher or principal. Students can also request to see me. Students
come to me to talk about things that impact their learning at school, such as
friendships, worries, and self-esteem. In my office, students can feel free to
talk about how they are feeling and we work together to problem solve.
For small group counselling, I send home a permission form that
informs parents about the purpose and duration of the group. Parents can accept
or decline the invitation for their child to participate in a small group. Some
groups I have run in the past include: friendship, social skills, and new
students. Groups are based on student needs and rotate throughout the grades
during the school year.
I also address students through the delivery of classroom-based
Character Education. Some topics include: transitions, self-esteem, making and
keeping friends, positive school behaviours, staying organized, stress, time
management, and digital citizenship. As a school and community we all work together
to teach students a variety of themes that promote our core values. Developing
positive character traits and having an open mind is something that is woven
into the curriculum and our school culture.
Beyond these traditional
counsellor/student interactions I also coordinate the Peer Mentor Program.
Every student in fourth grade has the opportunity to be a peer mentor during
the school year. Peer mentors have the important responsibility of acting as a leader for
the lower school. As a peer mentor, students will be trained to assist with
many student needs: conflict resolution, peer mediation, inclusion and
friendship skills, welcoming new students and more!
This year I am also facilitating our lower
school student council in their school leadership to promote
international-mindedness. I guide students in helping the school to think internationally as well as work
together to help others that are not as fortunate as we are.
My work with students, staff, parents and the
community helps me to support and meet the needs of all students.
What are the main areas of
counselling students that you are involved with?
I work with students individually on a number of
different things but the majority of my time is spent working with students on
transitions. International schools are, by nature, comprised of a transient
population so I spend a lot of time ensuring a smooth transition.
As new students enroll throughout the
school year, I facilitate a group activity upon their arrival. With the
classroom teacher’s assistance, we work together to immerse the new student
into our classroom community, usually matching them with a peer with whom they
will work closely. The new students come and eat lunch with me and a few other
friends during this time. We get to know one another and talk about where new
students are coming from. We also discuss the feelings involved with moving and
all of the changes that go along with it. This year, students received a new
student survival kit to help them transition. The items in their kit were
symbolic, daily reminders about staying positive as they navigate all of the
changes.
During
the school year as students prepare to move on to another school, a group is
held to say goodbye and work towards providing the student with some closure.
Students are asked to invite a few friends to join them for a lunch group
before they go. During this time, their friends will share memories and sign an
autograph book so that students can exchange contact information. Last year, I
had students who were preparing to move to a new school leave something special
behind. They chose to capture their legacy through the creation of a book, giving
each student an opportunity to leave advice for incoming students. Some
students left general advice about making as many friends as you can while you
are here, being true to yourself and to keep calm and carry on while others
left more specific words of wisdom like try the cookies in the cafeteria, go on
the London Eye, and eat at Wagamama. New students have loved reading through this
book to get ideas so it is a tradition I will continue.
While
I work with students individually throughout their journey, I find there is a
lot of power in students working together through their transitions. I can give
all the advice in the world and use every trick I have but every single time I facilitate
a group, I am continually amazed at the advice students share with one another.
Students hearing ideas from their peers can be extremely influential. If there
is one thing I feel proud of every single day it is how incredible our students
are at supporting one another. They are always willing to lend a helping hand,
offer advice and cheer one another up. I am so lucky to be at a school that
feels like a community.
This
year I am asking our students to share their personal experience moving here.
We are creating a book to leave in reception so that as new families come and
visit our school they can look at the stories of real students. They have had
so much fun reflecting on when they first found out their family was going to
move, how they felt on their very first day of school and how they feel now
that they have settled down.
My goal as a school counsellor is to help every child be
successful academically, socially, and emotionally.
Do you find students have
particular difficulties coping with relocation around traditional holidays?
Students are coping with a ‘different’ holiday
celebration if they are in a new place. It can be especially difficult for
families who are unable to travel to their home country or be with their family
and friends during this special time. That being said, I feel those times of
year can be a challenge for some families, especially the newer ones that have
more recently joined our community. Things are going to be different in a new
place and the adjustment period is different for everyone.
What would your top advice
be to students and families struggling with transition during a holiday season?
Some families choose to travel back home to be
with their families and friends during our breaks. Others travel to new places
and experience different and new traditions.
Whatever it is that families choose to do over
the holiday season, my advice is to keep your culture, traditions and holidays
alive and help your children appreciate the new and different experiences that
come with it!
Although it is not always possible to be close
to our loved ones, technology makes interactions with our friends and family more
accessible over the distance. Email, skype, and facetime are some ways to ‘be’
with the ones we love. Though certainly not the same as being geographically
close, those technology tools do much to help families navigate the transition.
I am always available for parents that are
struggling with transition. Every person and family goes through their
transition in their own way and I am always here to offer my support. I know
that the holidays can be a difficult time to be in a new place so I would
encourage parents to reach out if they need some advice. The exciting thing
about being part of our international community is having the opportunity to
learn and celebrate other holidays as well as our own. I would suggest that
parents remember this as they carry on their traditions and try and incorporate
new ones to have the best of both worlds!
How does ACS celebrate
different cultures attitudes towards Christmas and other holidays, and how are
you involved with this?
At
ACS HIllingdon, we do our best
to celebrate as many different holidays as we can. We know that our students celebrate
a number of different traditions so we are intentional in our encouragement of parental
participation when it comes to sharing cultures and traditions with our
students.
Throughout the school year, we have Multicultural
Exploration. Last year students explored the cultures and traditions of
Scandinavia, China, Latin America and India. This year we had parents come in
to teach students about the United States of America. Students learned history,
were taught how to square dance and enjoyed traditional American treats. We
will have more Multicultural Explorations this year including Israel, Japan and
other countries. Most recently, students learned about the five-day festival,
Diwali that some of our students celebrate. Students also talked about things for
which they are thankful as some of our other students celebrated Thanksgiving.
The lower school will come together to sing Christmas carols and we are all
really excited to learn more about Hannukah this year!
In January students will learn about the Brazilian culture
and will make wishes on Bahia Bands that are supposed to come true when they
fall off. Last year our Scandinavian students and families helped us to
celebrate the festival of Santa Lucia on 13 December. We also celebrated the beginning of spring
last year when our Romanian students shared Martisors with us. We hope to keep
these traditions alive and also celebrate new ones each year!
Do you think international
schools are more inclusive of different cultures and celebrate diversity more
than other schools?
All you have to do is walk through our front doors to
immediately feel like you are in an international school. You are greeted with
flags from every country our students and staff represent. At ACS Hillingdon, we
celebrate internationalism throughout the year. In lower school, we are lucky enough to have students representing
thirty-two countries and we find so many ways to celebrate our diversity! At
ACS, one of the core values to which we strongly adhere is our commitment to
Enrich the International Experience.
We highlighted our unique diversity
throughout our Spirit Week in October. Lower school
students began the week in the auditorium with a “parade of flags”. Each of the
thirty-two countries that we represent were proudly announced as students paraded
their hand made flag through our multinational audience of flag-waving students.
The assembly also included first graders on stage, introducing themselves in
their native languages, a skit performed in Spanish, and a medley of music
where we sang in four different languages.
Throughout the week, students were encouraged to dress in
different outfits to celebrate internationalism. They wore clothing related to their own nationalities, clothing
related to our host country, clothing related to any other country than their
own and finished our International Spirit Week with a parade of students and
staff dressed as book characters from any country other then their own.
One of my favorite days is our International
Food Day. Though we coordinate with our PTSA and Multicultural Liasons for so
many events throughout the year, our parent volunteers in particular enrich
this day as they work hard to prepare food from all over the world. It is
delicious and quite a learning experience, especially for our taste buds!
I think it is easy for us to embrace our
differences. We take every opportunity
we can to celebrate our diversity.
What do you enjoy the most
about your job?
When a student leaves my office saying, “I feel like
skipping. I feel so much lighter then I did when I first came in.”
When I get great reports from teachers about a student’s
progress.
When parents call to thank me for my help.
These are the things that warm my heart and make me feel
lucky to have the most amazing job in the world. I don’t know many people who
can proclaim as much love for their job as I am able to. I go to work with a
smile and leave at the end of the day with a smile. I love making a difference
in people’s lives. That is what makes my job so rewarding!
