Labels

Add a Little Happiness to your Freshman Orientation

Every March I speak at Freshman Orientation about the role of the school counselor. I mainly focus on what I do, as opposed to what the parents in the audience may perceive I do (or don't do) based in their personal experience with a "G" counselor.

I try to freshen my presentation each year by adding a new perspective or new stories, but this year I think it is time for a new approach all together. I have been serving the same community for 6, next year will make 7, years; so I think by now they all know I am a Professional School Counselor and what that means for their family & the community.

Thanks to Twitter, I stumbled upon this website & now I will be able to liven and improve my whole presentation with very little time or effort. I also decided to use Haiku Deck, instead of Prezi to really bring a personal touch to my presentation. Check out my Class of 2018 Freshman Orientation Haiku Deck here.

Each family will get a packet with my School Counseling brochure, which outlines the services I provide, so I will only briefly touch on that information from a preventative counseling standpoint. Families will also receive these materials:
The majority of my time will be spent on sharing "The 10 Keys to Happier Living" and how integrating them into both the student and the parents life can make the transition a little smoother and help them experience success all four years of high school and beyond.

 Twitter Survey

 As I prepared for tonight's event I did a brief survey on Twitter, asking other school counselors in my PLN, "What's the #1 thing you tell parents at your freshman orientation event?" Here's what my Tweeps had to say:





Please share your Freshman Orientation Tips for success below in the Comments section... 
Email Post
Labels:

Comments

  1. Carol MillerMarch 11, 2014 at 6:37 AM

    I have meeting with 8th graders to get them ready for high school. I have told them all to get involved. Make high school fun. If you are going to spend the majority of waking hours someplace, you have to make the most of it or you will be miserable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Franciene SabensMarch 11, 2014 at 8:02 PM

    That is great Carol. It's always nice when the kids have a little support and encouragement before they get to the high school. Check out this great resource for more information to share about beginning college planning: http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/my-future-my-way.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. ChrisWood22March 21, 2014 at 7:21 AM

    So great Franciene, I can't believe it took me almost 2 weeks to get around to reading it. So impressed with the "Material Packet" you put together for them. All of that information is invaluable and will come in handy so often throughout high school. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Franciene SabensApril 6, 2014 at 8:35 PM

    Thanks Chris! Feel free to use anything that might work for your program.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownAugust 3, 2014 at 3:03 PM

    This is fantastic information! How much time do you usually spend during this event covering the graduation requirements and freshman year course information? How long does your whole freshman orientation event last?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Franciene SabensMarch 13, 2016 at 2:59 PM

      It's about 1.5 hours with a tour. We talk for about 45 minutes and they tour for the rest. We try to keep it short and sweet.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts