Putting together your School Counseling Portfolio! Step 2: Gathering and Organizing

Hello again! :)

This is my second post in the school counseling portfolio series! :) If you missed the first post on planning and preparation, you can read it HERE. Once you've planned and prepared your portfolio and its content, the next step is to begin gathering what you need and organizing the contents 

For organizing, I purchased an accordion file for about $3 at Walmart. I used this to keep my portfolio contents organized by topic! For example, I have a section for each of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) domains. I have a section in each domain in my portfolio, so I have my materials organized in my accordion file. By doing this, I collect and organize all of my portfolio contents prior to putting it together, making the process easier and less overwhelming :)  File folders can work well also! 

For example, I have a section titled "Academic" in my accordion file. Everything labeled "Academic" will appear in my academic divider section in my portfolio! I do the same for each section so that everything stays organized. This is something that you can do as you go along. Doing little by little can also make the process less overwhelming! I will be doing a third post on assembling your portfolio soon! 

Keep Track- Know what you need to buy! Having a list of what you need can will be beneficial at the time of assembly! You may already have many things on hand, but it is good to know what you need, I have listed some of the items that I am using below: 

• Hole Punch (I purchased one for about $5 at walmart)
• Accordion File for organizing the content and materials
• 3 Ring Binder (Target has a great selection in awesome colors- mine is 1 1/2" in size)
• Clear sheet protectors- I bought a 50 pack just in case 
• Table of Contents- I plan to create this for easy access of my portfolio contents- this will go in the front of my binder
•  Dividers

Other materials that you may need if you wish to add decoration to your portfolio:

• Construction Paper/Card Stock 
• Glue Sticks
• Scissors

This about sums up this post! This is the gathering and organizing step in the portfolio process. Stay tuned for my third post on assembling your portfolio. Again, if you missed the first step you can read it here:

Putting together your School Counseling Portfolio! Step 1: Planning and Preparation

Do you have any questions/comments, or topics that you would like me to cover? Feel free to comment on the blog, facebook, or email at cheerfulcounseling@yahoo.com! I would love to hear from you! 

~Nicole 

Putting Together Your School Counseling Portfolio! Step 1: Planning & Preparation

Hello again counseling friends!

Now that I am nearing the end of my school counseling program, I've decided to write a few posts on putting together a school counseling portfolio! This can serve as a great tool, and it can be done in 3 steps: planning & preparation, gathering & organizing, and assembling! This is a great opportunity to show what you have to offer and what you have done! In this post, we will discuss what can be done in step 1 of the portfolio process :)


Brainstorm: This is a great way to decide your layout and what you wish to include! The ASCA National Model is an excellent resource guide! In the ASCA National Model book, there are a number of different ways that you can organize your portfolio: by developmental domains or the ASCA model theme are just a few ideas. Creating lessons and activities based on the 3 domains can show that you are able to provide services in each domain. You can also decide your layout based on the items that you wish to include :) I have included a list of some materials you can possibly include:

• Classroom Guidance Lesson Plans 
• Small Group Lessson Plans & ideas 
• Things that you've created in your work with children 
• Use of Data in your internship 
• Letters of Recommendation
• Pictures (I will talk about this one in more detail)

Look at what you've already done: Taking a look at your past accomplishments and projects is a great way to discover portfolio material! This can also give you ideas that you can implement now.

Create a written plan for your lessons: Creating your own classroom and small group lessons is great idea to add more content to your portfolio. By having a written lesson plan, the idea can be easily implemented in your future work as a School Counselor. It also shows some ideas of what you've done in your direct work with students. I follow the ASCA Lesson Plan Template when writing my lesson plans. You can view all of the ASCA templates by clicking HERE. It also gives yourself something to follow during the lesson as opposed to just "winging it".

Get the most out of your internship: Going above & beyond is a great way to get more out of the internship experience, and taking additional things on at your school. Be sure not to take on too much, and practice self care, Be sure to check on my self care blog post for more tips!

Show Use of Data: In the school counseling world, data is extremely important, Being able to display data and show what you can do with it is great portfolio material!

Take Pictures: A picture is worth a thousand words...and can help others visually see what was done in a particular event, classroom lesson, or small group. Be careful about pictures with kiddos and protecting privacy! For example, taking a picture of any tangible items, displays, or diagrams used in the lessons can help to show the work that you do.

A School Counselor Portfolio is an excellent way to highlight the things that you've done, and to let yourself shine :) You can check out the second post in the portfolio series by clicking here: Putting together your school counseling portfolio! Step 2: Gathering and Organizing

What materials do you plan to include in your School Counseling Portfolio? Practicing School Counselors: Do you have any portfolio ideas or resources for current graduate students? Feel free to comment below! :)

~Nicole

Resources every school counselor intern should know about!

Hello counselors!!

I can't believe that October is here already! ! Fall is here, and I’m having a blast at my internship and loving every minute of it! I have been super busy lately, but I am happy to be working on another blog post!

For this post, I am linking up with Traci R Brown to discuss resources that every school counseling intern should know about!  I have listed mine below, and be sure to check out Traci's post on awesome intern resources by clicking HERE.







1.      FREE Publications: There are a number of websites where you can download and/or order great resources and publications! The U.S. Department of Education  has many FREE publications on topics such as bullying, financial aid materials for college bound students, and more! Another one of my favorites is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website. They also have FREE resources and materials that you can order! You can see what they have to offer by clicking HERE. I have recieved items such as a suicide hotline magnet, childhood grief curriculum guide, and much more! Also, sure to check out resources at the National Education Association (NEA) including the Bullying Prevention Kit and Bully Pledge! Great resources and information to use in your work with students

2.      Libraries: As an intern, we are surrounded by many resources for books: The School Library & librarian, your nearby local library, and your university library. These are all great places to look for books to use in lessons, working with students, etc. The best part is…it’s FREE! If you are looking for books for a lesson  or a specific topic, the library is a great place to start! Also, the librarian is a great resource in your school on books, and to answer questions that you may have! If your local library doesn't  have the book you need, you can always check and see if another location does! 

3. EZ Analyze: I love this tool! This is also a FREE resource, and it allows you to record and analyze data, track time spent with students, track session, documentation, and much more! If you have Microsoft excel, you can use EZ Analyze! Click HERE to get started with it! Data is a resource in itself, and it is extremely useful for your work with students! Data is a great jumping point to plan & provide services for the students in the school! Even as an intern, the use of data is important as well! If you plan on putting together a School Counselor Portfolio, you can include how you used data in your internship!

I hope that you found this post useful! :) I am excited to have collaborated with Traci R Brown with this post! She is also a school counseling grad student blogger, and you can check out her post and blog by clicking HERE. 

Good luck with internship!

 Do you know any resources for counseling graduate students that you would like to share? Feel free to comment below!

~Nicole

Going for the G.O.A.L!

Hello counselors,

Today I've decided to do a blog post on goal setting from a school counseling perspective! In my graduate classes and at my internship, I am learning the importance of setting goals and providing direction for your program. Since I love acronyms so much, I came up with one on creating goals for your school, your school counseling program, and yourself! I will explain each one and detail, and I'll also include some resources that I love and use again and again! This acronym is great for setting goals as an intern or a practicing School Counselor!

Gather Your Data:     

In the school counseling world, the "D" word is used often, and for a good reason. Backing up your goals with data is a great place to get started. By looking at the numbers from the previous year, or current trends, you can look at ways on how to improve! Also, this serves as a jumping point for creating your goals and making them meaningful to fit the needs of your school :)

Organize your goals using a method: 

Using a method is key, and my personal favorite is the S.M.A.R.T goals method! This acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely!  Again, I sure do love acronyms, and this one is great! It allows you to be able to set a specific goal and make it something that you can measure and place a time frame on as well! You can click HERE to find a great resource on smart goals!

Ask Yourself: How will this benefit me, my students, and my school? 

As we all know, our students are the heart of the school, and they are the reason for all that we do! In creating our goals, keep in mind how will this benefit our students, our program, and the school as a whole! This can also apply when setting personal work goals for yourself, and how this can benefit both you, the staff & student body as well! By asking yourself this question, you are creating goals that are in the best interest of the school and students!

Link up & Collaborate with others! 

Take a minute to think about who is on your side, and who can help in your efforts to accomplish these goals. Also, keeping in mind what resources you have in your school to work towards implementing programs and working towards achieving your goals :) I feel that collaboration and building relationships in the school and community is essential in a school counseling program, and in helping both schools and students achieve goals!

I also recommend the book, The Use of Data in School Counseling: Hatching Results for Students, Programs, and the Profession by Trish Hatch. You can click on the title to order on amazon!

Also, I am currently reading School Counselor Accountability: A MEASURE of Student Success for one of my classes and I'm loving it :) This one will serve as a great reference book in the future for planning and measuring goals to ensure the success of all students!


Both books are great and relatively inexpensive! I recommend them both! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post! One book that I have on my wish list is Making Data Work by Carol Kaffenberger!



What goals do you have set for the school year? Do you have any resources that you recommend? Is there anything that you would like to share on goal setting?
Feel free to comment below!


Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

~Nicole

Bullying Awareness Pack Giveaway!!

Hello counselor friends!!

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend! With National Bullying Prevention Awareness month coming up in a few weeks, I have decided to do a giveaway where 2 lucky winners will receive my Bullying Awareness Pack for FREE! The giveaway starts at midnight and ends on Friday,September 19th!

This pack comes with a bully pledge, bookmarks, materials for an anti-bullying bulletin board, "is it bullying?" scenario cards, B.U.L.L.Y Acronym Sign, and "What should you do.?" draw/write activity! You can view this item in my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking HERE. 

I recently just did a post on Ideas and Resources for National Bullying Prevention Month that you can check out for the upcoming month :)

You can enter this giveaway in the following ways: 

• "Like" Cheerful Counseling on facebook in the box below.
• Follow me on twitter in the box below
• Comment on this blog post answering one or both of the questions below: 
• What efforts/programs have you implemented in your school to help curb bullying?
• Do you have any bullying books/resources that you recommend for parents, counselors, small groups, classroom lessons, etc?

Thank you so much for checking out the blog! I will be announcing the winner on Friday night on my facebook page and blog so be sure to check back :)

Don't forget to enter in the box below! 

~Nicole

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ideas & Resources for National Bullying Prevention Month!

Hello counselor friends!!

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long labor day weekend...I know I did!! Also, hopefully everyone's school year is off to a great start!

October is National Bullying Prevention Month! October will be here before you know it... and I have put together a list of resources and ideas that you can use at your school for National Bullying Prevention Month!


Encourage Kindness:  Starting a kindness campaign at your school or doing a kindness challenge can encourage students to be kind to one another and to help curb bullying! In additon, try to introduce students to new character traits, and working to build character as another effort that can be used! I created a Freebie Empathy Lesson  that you can download in my TpT Store!

Try a theme, acronym or both: Keeping a consistent theme throughout the month is a great way raise awareness in your school and for the kids to remember! I created a B.U.L.L.Y Acronym sign/poster for my teachers pay teachers store that you can download for FREE by clicking HERE. I also created an activity with an ice cream theme titled "Ice Cream to Stop Bullying" that you can use with the little ones! You can purchase it in my TpT store by In clicking HERE. It is great to use in your curriculum, groups, individuals, and even bulletin boards!

Incorporate theme school-wide and in your curriculum: Both of the above  products can work great as a school theme! You can incorporate the theme in your classroom lessons, and make it appropriate for each grade level. In your office, you can also display your story books on bullying! If possible, you can work with the media specialist at your school and ask him/her to place some bullying books on display as well. You can maybe even do something as a district and make it a district-wide theme!

Hold a parent night: If possible, host a parent night at your school on the issue of bullying. This is a great opportunity to build rapport with families, and inform others on the school's bullying policy. You can also answer questions, provide resources, and describe the school's role and the parents role in the effort to curb bullying! The ABC's of Bullying Prevention by Kenneth Shore offers great ideas and tips for schools and parents, you can order it on Amazon HERE.

I have also included a few websites and other resources that you can check out:

PACER Center: PACER Center has a page on their website dedicated to Bullying Prevention Month.  This page includes videos, educator toolkits, handouts, bullying facts, and more! You can also order FREE Bookmarks! (There is a S&H charge). You can click HERE to check out what PACER Center has to offer. They also have resources for Unity Day- Wednesday, October 22nd, where everyone can wear orange and unite against bullying.

Stomp out Bullying: Stomp Out Bullying offers ideas for each week in October! For example, students can make friends with someone they don't know at school the week of October 13th. There is also a Student Participation Toolkit with information on getting students involved, great things to add to

Stop Bullying Now! DVD: I got a FREE copy of the Stop Bullying Now! DVD Video Toolkit from the U.S. Department of Education's website. They have a number of FREE publications that you can download and/or order. The Video Toolkit includes webisodes that you can present with students, PSA's to present at your school, video workshops, and an instructor's guide for use in classroom lessons! You can order a FREE copy of this video toolkit by clicking HERE.
Also, you can click HERE to see all of the bullying publications that you can order from the U.S. Department of Education.

National Education Association (NEA): The National Education Association also has many FREE resources for bullying. You can also sign the pledge as a part of their Bully Free- It starts with me campaign. You can click HERE to sign the pledge! You'll also receive a free pin and poster, which is great to have in your office for students :)

SAMHSA: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also have bullying resources and many others that you can order for FREE! Click HERE to view/order the bullying publications and see everything that this website has to offer!

ASCA Resource Center: If you are an ASCA member, be sure to check out the ASCA Resource Center. They have resources on many topics, including bullying/relational aggression/confllict resolution including lesson plans, articles, documents, and more!


I hope that many of you will find this post useful! Also...bullying prevention efforts can be implemented all year long! This list is also not comprehensive, there are many bullying resources and ideas out there...and I would love to hear resources and ideas that you know about or have used. Feel free to share in the comments section below! Bullying is a very serious issue in school's across the country, and I would love to hear from you about efforts what you've made at your schools!

If you have bullying book recommendations for educators, parents, and for lessons with children...I would love to hear about those as well!! You can also click on "My Counseling Library" tab to see books that I own and recommend...I have them organized by topic!

Also, my new Bullying Awareness Pack is now available in my TeachersPayTeachers store! You can click HERE to purchase!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend :) I will also have another giveaway soon, so be on the lookout for that!!

Until Next Time,


~Nicole

5 Ways to Show Appreciation for your School Staff!

Hey Everyone!! :)

It feels so good to be back in the schools! For internship, I am at the middle school level this year and I am super excited :) Today I wanted to talk about showing staff appreciation. I like to think of  the school staff as a play, everyone plays their parts and contributes to make the show a success!! Along the way, sending appreciation towards the staff can go a long way! It doesn't have to cost a ton of money to show your staff you appreciate them, and I have highlighted tangible (and non-tangible) ways to do so:

Kind Words: Seeing this firsthand, telling them that they're awesome and how much you appreciate them can really go a long way! On the busiest and craziest of days, it can be relieving and nice to hear that their hard work is greatly appreciated!

Blank Notes: I love doing this for people! Taking the time to write a sweet note to staff can also make someones day! I bought some super cute blank note cards from the dollar store and I keep them available whenever I need them :) It is also something they can post, and it can even give them "warm fuzzies" when they look at it! If you don't have blank note cards, a blank sheet of paper can work just fine!

Something they love: Whether it is their favorite snack, coffee drink, or morning breakfast, this can be a sweet little surprise for staff! Knowing that you thought of them can give them the "warm fuzzies" inside!

Do someone a favor: When a member of your staff is super swamped, a simple deed to make their day a little less stressful can sometimes make all the difference! Whether it's making copies, or taking even one thing off their busy to-do list can be extremely helpful :)

Frame Something: This is such an awesome gift idea! I love this, and you can purchase frames at the dollar store! You can frame many things: a photo, a special note, drawing, or even great character traits for that person. This is my absolute favorite sentimental gift, and can serve as great office/classroom decor.

 Also, I wanted to share my newest product on TeachersPayTeachers! My School Bus Safety Pack! It comes with some materials that you can use when teaching the little ones about being safe and following the School Bus Safety Rules :) You can click HERE to purchase!

These are some ideas that you can do with your staff :) I hope that you have found this post useful! What are some staff appreciation ideas that you've done at your school? I would love to hear them, feel free to share & comment below! :) Remember, it's the little things!

Good Luck to everyone as you start the school year!!

~Nicole