Counselor’s Corner – January 10, 2020

Social-Emotional Counseling – Drug & Alcohol Talk A Huge Success

On Dec. 12th we hosted a visit from RehabBali, a substance use addiction treatment center here in Sanur (www.rehabbali.com) that provides a range of free resources to the local community including delivering talks/training sessions at schools and providing free therapy sessions for people in the local community with addiction issues.

Dr. Terry Spokes, Bali Rehab Clinical Program Director and UK Psychologist, who spoke at our Career Day last year, and four staff members, who have personal experience of addiction and recovery, shared their stories with students, followed by a Q&A session to encourage them to ask any questions about drugs, alcohol, addiction, rehab, recovery, and working in the field of recovery.

Our Global Issues Network (GIN) students, who aim to create awareness about the dangers of drug use in Bali, created an anonymous survey for students in advance of the talk to ascertain their level of knowledge about drugs and alcohol and the life consequences of using these substances. Tara and Ji Youn in Grade 10 introduced the panelists and students had a chance to submit questions in writing and in person. It was a very informative talk for both groups 6-8 and 9-12 and an amazing opportunity for our students to get first hand words of wisdom on this very important issue.

Mindfulness Term 3

This term students in pre K and grades 3, 4 and 7 will have a unit on mindfulness and will learn skills for paying close attention to their surroundings, thoughts, emotions, body sensations, and breath. The aim is to help students find that very attuned inner state in order to be fully present with others, to make thoughtful decisions,  and to be able to focus and concentrate better before tests, in classes, and during performances, sports, and other challenging endeavors.

All grades will get a unit (usually 16 sessions) on mindfulness with the counselor this year. The units are scheduled randomly depending on time available in secondary and the units of enquiry at the primary level.

College/Career Counseling – Monash University Visit 

On Wednesday we hosted  a visit from Monash, a public research university in Melbourne, Australia (https://www.monash.edu/). All secondary students and parents are welcome to attend these sessions.

Summer Programs!

We’ve only just begun the new year but it’s already time to start researching and applying for summer programs around the globe. Many have application deadline in February and March.

Please be sure to check and scroll through the tabs at the bottom of the regularly-updated Opportunities for Students document for:

• Upcoming College and University Visits
• Spring break and summer programs around the world
• Internships
• Scholarships
• Tutoring Resources

BIS Career Day Jan. 20th

We will host over 20 professionals on eight different career panels on Monday Jan. 20th.  The panels range from arts and engineering to technology and tourism to manufacturing and psychology. This week students in grades 6-12 will pre-select two panel sessions to attend and will have the chance to hear from panelists about their education, training, and the ins and outs and day-to-day tasks of their jobs.

Our keynote speaker this year is Kaycee Odom, founder of Interaction Guidance. Over the past 25 year, Ms. Odom has worked in psychology, corporate sales, and human resources. Her focus is on overcoming barriers and fear of change. Learn more about Kaycee Odom in her bio here.

As a lead up to the day we ask that all students complete a Career Exploration task in BridgeU and, using the Careers Tool, select and save as a PDF three careers to discuss in homerooms next week on Friday Jan. 17. All students in grades 6-12 can access their BridgeU accounts using their managebac login details.

And speaking of Careers- our Grade 10 students will embark on their Career Exploration Week later this semester, from April 13-17, with each student securing an internship position at a work site of their choice. Career Exploration Week is a great opportunity for our Grade 10 students to gain knowledge and real-life, practical experience in the career areas that interest them, make contacts in the industry, and build their resumes.

Parents, we need your help! Please contact Indra in the counseling center if you can host a student intern for Career Exploration Week: counselorsecretary@baliis.net