Three weeks in. So far, so good. I’m starting to get used to having an office. I’ve mastered how to use the walkie talkie! I survived my new role during a fire drill. I must say, I like fire drills much better as a teacher. I attended a suicide protocol training last week. It was intense and very informative. I heard from other elementary school counselors who had already written suicide protocols for students at their schools. The trainers said that the number of suicides threatened, attempted and completed fluctuate from year to year, but do occur in elementary, middle and high schools. One of the papers they went over in detail was the initial screener. When a student mentions wanting to die or something similar, a screener must be done, and the parent needs to be notified no matter how serious their intent turns out to be. The first question on the screener is “What time do you go to bed?” The trainer said to always follow up with the question “What time do you go to sleep?” The trainer said we will get two completely different answers. Especially in middle and high school, students may go to bed at 10:00, but will be on their phones looking at social media seeing all of the things they weren’t invited to, all of the parties they missed out on, all of the people who are skinnier and more attractive than them…. until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. The trainers said to suggest to parents to take their child’s phone at night when they go to bed. If the child needs an alarm clock, get them an actual alarm clock. The trainers told a few stories about their experiences and what they saw in the field. One told of a time where an 11-year old student overdosed on Tylenol and died from liver failure. They said to recommend locking up all prescriptions and over the counter medications. When a child is contemplating suicide, they will often test out different things such as vitamins, pain relievers, cold medicine… The training took about four hours and was overwhelming to say the least!
The rest of the week was spent putting out little fires among students and teachers. I am struggling a bit with note taking. As a teacher, I took very detailed notes about everything that happened with a student. Now, I am supposed to take minimal notes (more like a log) in case they are ever subpoenaed in court. I found a form online that I plan on using that is very basic. I’ve spoken with a lot of students and a few parents about the most random stuff. I take each person’s confidentiality (and my license) seriously and do not discuss details with anyone. I started to put together an introductory lesson that will be taught school-wide in the library during the book fair. I cleaned out some files and began organizing some ideas for counseling groups that will begin next month. I submitted applications for food and clothing for some students. I had another training that took place at my school with the Title I Hope department. I am finding that I need a binder for everything! I set up a peanut butter drive that will begin next week and run until the end of the month. Things are starting to move quickly, and I love it!