Showing posts with label bucket filling. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
The Map
This morning as we were sitting on the window sill before school, one of my new students surprises me with this affirmation:
Mrs. Gruener, you're like my map.
I'd never really thought about being a map before,
so I asked him what he meant.
He said he'd follow me anywhere.
He said that I can help him get where he's going.
He said he doesn't feel so lost when he's with me.
And I almost started crying.
October is kind of crazy for a counselor and this week has been really challenging. I've been assigned a few new jobs and I've been learning some new things, many out of my comfort zone, and all way outside of my skill set. And I'm trying to do some extra stuff, like write a grant for a new program that we want to try. So I've been seriously considering retirement, thinking someone younger could do a better job than I feel like I'm doing. Even my principal has noticed that I've been a little stressed.
And then this Bucket Filler reminds me why I love doing what I do.
I get to be his map even though I'm sometimes as lost as he is.
Maybe more lost.
But blessed beyond measure.
Our high school PALs also serve as a map; check out these new capes
on our super PALs Wall of Fame.
Their superpowers include
empathy,
compassion,
and kindness.
Isn't their artwork strikingly engaging?
They took their tour of our campus this week and they start their visits with their PALees on Monday. We can't wait.
Grandparents can serve as a map, too.
As can mentors.
And teachers.
Coaches.
Parents.
And friends.
Who's your map?
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Big Bucket, Big Sky
Today I'm feeling blessed beyond words, in part because of the best Bucket Filling interaction ever that happened last week, between one of our new third graders and me. He stopped by the window sill where I sit every morning {with my ukulele, surrounded by my band of musical friends} and said,
"Hey, you're getting pretty good at that!"
I responded with, "Wow, thanks. That compliment overflows my bucket!" and, without missing a beat, he pulled what appeared to be an imaginary bucket from his pocket and replied, "Here's a bigger bucket for you."
Perfect timing, too, because I needed that bigger bucket
under the big sky in Montana this week!
So before I get to the point of today's post,
let me share a few character cam shots of the breathtaking beauty.
The fog blankets the terrain as we head into
Custer National Forest,
the birds flit from pillar to post,
and a red fox camouflages against the rocky road.
We crossed over into Wyoming at some point;
and the picturesque scenery gave me pause.
Fall foliage peeking through ...
paints a colorful canvas along the Creek in Red Lodge.
Did I mention that my bucket is overflowing with peace, hope & joy?
And the restorative road trip wasn't even the best part.
Meet Tanya, Julie & Jeri, my three new friends from Billings Public Schools.
If you've been a visitor at the Corner for awhile, you already know Tanya from her guest posts about Empathy in a (Shoe) Box, Being Wendy, Fr(I) Statements and Vision Boards. Well, she got the idea that she'd like for me to come to her district to do some training, so this determined Montana Counselor of the Year wrote a grant last Fall and, voila, in March I got an email from her, asking me to pack my bags. We set my visit for September 22nd, Character Day 2016,
and what a day of character development it was.
I started the morning singing, dancing, laughing and building character with about thirty counselors, principals and administrators, then spent the afternoon doing much of the same with the combined faculties of Highland Elementary and Boulder Elementary. On Thursday night, I got to hang out with about fifty new friends at Family Character Night.
We sang together.
And we talked about the power of that one little word: YET.
As I flashed up this picture from my friend Kristina, whose fifth grade teachers at Whitcomb Elementary made this visual display with the students' SMART goals for the year, I asked the children to share out loud something they can't do or haven't done yet so that we, as a group, could encourage them to keep on growing by chanting the word YET. Engagement and emotion grew as our growth-mindset Padawans shared their authentic answers:
I can't dance ... YET.
I can't bake a cake ... YET.
I can't play the ukulele ... YET.
I haven't found a friend ... YET.
Tears came when the Principal at Boulder Elementary sent me this note and explained that first thing next morning, one of those Padawans was waiting at her door, to share this thank-you treasure:
And, because of your note, Brady, and these kind comments
from workshop participants ~
This is how Professional Development is supposed to be.
I could have listened to you all day.
Just the shot of inspiration I needed.
I loved everything you had to say.
It was very good and really opened my own mind-set.
I learned so much; what a great presentation.
~ my bucket continues to overflow
bigger than Montana's big blue sky.
And the rainbow on the way home, a promise ...
And the rainbow on the way home, a promise ...
that one day my plans (and a plane) would take me back in that direction.
Thank you, Tanya and Billings Education Foundation, for giving me this
once-in-a-lifetime, picture-perfect opportunity.
once-in-a-lifetime, picture-perfect opportunity.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Inspiring Collaboration Guest Post
Today I'm overjoyed because one of my cyberspace counseling colleagues has agreed to tell us about a strong cross-curricular collaboration that resulted in an assembly idea that I predict will be music to your ears. Please give a warm Corner welcome to School Psychologist (and my friend!) Julie Gordon-Buccitti.
******************************
Hello from Overbrook Elementary!
We were so delighted to be invited by Barbara to share with you about our special whole-school collaborative project that we initiated this year. Our collaboration is a unique one, since we�re not aware of any other school psychologist and music teacher collaboratives in our area. Bringing our disciplines together made sense though, as music is a wonderful therapeutic medium and avenue for self-expression!
Overbrook is a kindergarten through grade 2 school, that has been distinguished as a PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) Model Demonstration School. It was one of just two schools in the state of Connecticut last year to receive this honor!
With the support of our amazing principal, Diane MacKinnon, and our wonderful staff at Overbrook, we were able to create such excitement throughout our school. We began with a series of co-taught lessons that took place during our music classes and focused on the work of Carol McCloud, author of Have You Filled a BucketToday? We included read-alouds, hands-on interactive tasks, written activities, songs, and instrumental music. My friend and colleague, Denise Martino, even wrote an original song that was perfect for our bucket-filling endeavor. With the help of some local businesses, who were kind enough to donate buckets to our project, the children used buckets as drums as they sang Denise�s beautiful and very catchy tune. We even caught children singing this tune at various times and locations throughout the day!
I also purchased the book in Spanish, as we have a large population of bilingual students at our school, and, with the help of our kind ELL Aide, Miss Claudia, I was able to co-teach a lesson in Spanish. I was so touched as our bilingual students helpedme, as I was attempting to read and communicate! This was a good empathy lesson for me as I took on the challenges of using a language that I am not as familiar with.
In our school, there have been many social-emotional learning initiatives. Some of these initiatives have included whole group and small group lessons in classrooms and centers, whole group lunch lessons in the cafeteria, and co-teaching in our music classes. In addition, there are now plans underway for bringing social-emotional learning into gym class. It was my hope that by bringing social-emotional learning to our students across a variety of settings, that we would see carry-over of the skills taught into multiple settings throughout the school. Based on feedback I have received from students, staff, and parents, this is exactly what is happening.
Recently, Denise and I had the pleasure of putting together a Bucket-Filling assembly. This assembly was attended by our entire school, as well as community stakeholders like our Superintendent of Schools, Pupil Services Staff, and our local newspaper, The New Haven Register. During our assembly, we incorporated a number of activities, making sure to include variety and opportunities for movement, in order to keep our little ones actively engaged. Our students performed Denise�s original song, there was a read-aloud, we all took a bucket-filling pledge together, and acted out some skits and asked our students to identify whether we were bucket filling or bucket dipping. Our students have become quite the bucket filling experts! We also made some special edition bucket filling PBIS tickets, to tie in bucket filling with our Model PBIS program already in place.
At the end of our assembly, we wrapped up with a bucket filling music video and our students and staff had so much fun singing and dancing. Both music teacher and school psychologist are being asked when the next bucket filling lesson will be taking place. I wonder if our littles know how much they fill our buckets each day.
 |
| Click to download these special-edition tickets. |
At the end of our assembly, we wrapped up with a bucket filling music video and our students and staff had so much fun singing and dancing. Both music teacher and school psychologist are being asked when the next bucket filling lesson will be taking place. I wonder if our littles know how much they fill our buckets each day.
Our assembly was also written up in our support staff and specialists� newsletters to parents, so now our parents can use similar bucket filling terminology, and together we can reinforce the importance of being a bucket filler at school and at home.
It was truly heartwarming working together to make this project a success. So many staff members helped in so many ways. I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful collaborating partner Denise, too; our buckets are overflowing!
Thank you for allowing us to share our story and our excitement about this project with you. We look forward to continuing with our bucket filling work, and encouraging kindness throughout our school and community!
Denise Martino, Music Teacher
Overbrook Elementary School
A K-2 PBIS Model Demonstration School
East Haven, CT
East Haven, CT
Thank you, Julie & Denise, for sharing your heartbeat with us;
we are positively inspired by your bucket-filling collaboration.
we are positively inspired by your bucket-filling collaboration.
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