Counselor’s Corner – April 9, 2020

Social-Emotional Counseling

This is hard. I would like to acknowledge openly that we are all being pushed beyond our limits in new and unique ways. This goes for Students, Teachers, and Parents alike. If you are struggling with the current situation, please know that we are all in this together.

As a Family Therapist and Mindfulness Teacher, I’d like to share a few tips and resources on coping:

• Find some time to be alone – to process your thoughts and feelings, to meditate, and to express how you feel through journaling, painting, drawing, etc. All this together time can feel overwhelming.

• Eat well – This whole process is about staying healthy so be sure you are eating healthy fresh food every single day. Do allow yourself some treats but only after you’ve had a healthy meal.

• Breath – Spend some time focusing on your breath-simply breathing in and breathing out. Place your hand on your “anchor spot” where you feel your breath most-usually your tummy or your chest and just notice your breath moving in and out.  This is a great way to stay grounded.

• Practice Mindfulness – start to pay attention to each experience you are having. This will keep you centered in the moment and make things a lot more interesting and enjoyable. This is a good way to begin to notice if your thoughts are going to the future (worry, anxiety) or the past (guilt, sadness).

• Move – Keep your body active to help with sleeping and to help process your emotions. Bilateral movement is the way our brain works through and processes our experience. Go for a walk or run in nature, do yoga or an exercise class online, dance!

Resources

Here is a list of mindfulness apps  each with their own unique features. I am currently enjoying the UCLA Mindfulness Center app. Others have recommended the Mindfulness App for Fidgety Skeptics.

Here are some resources for online therapy posted by the International School Counseling Association.

University Counseling

As you may be aware, our students in grades 9-12 have a college counseling class with me once each term.  This means that over the course of their four years of high school, they will receive 16 college counseling classes to prepare them for university admission.  During each class, students learn about themselves and about future options that best fit their personalities, strengths, and interests. In each class, they also complete a task in BridgeU, our online college and career matching program.  By the time students reach Grade 12, they have completed all the various parts of their application planning process, including the creation of a shortlist of universities they will apply to and their requests for Letters of Recommendation from Teachers.

During the school closure, we will continue completing tasks in BridgeU and students should keep an eye out for emailed assignments. I will also post these on our College Counseling Google Classrooms.

For our Grade 11 students who are now selecting universities to apply to next year, I will post here a weekly university to discover. Please also continue to check and scroll through the tabs at the bottom of the regularly-updated Opportunities for Students document for:

• Virtual University Visits and live online chats with university reps
• Summer programs around the world
• Internships/ Scholarships
• Tutoring Resources

University of the Week

Toulouse Business School- Barcelona