Are you getting excited about returning to the building next week? I can assure you that I have missed you and am excited to see you, but it is Lexi who will be the MOST THRILLED to have you all back in the building!
I know there are lots of questions about how it will feel and how things will work. Hopefully you have seen the videos that the administrators are creating to share insight about what to expect and the rules you will need to follow. I have total confidence that even though it will be different than what you have experienced before, it will still be manageable and a success because we will all be thankful to be back in the building together.
And, for those of you who are nervous... please know that this is also totally normal and completely ok! Remember, I am still here for you and would love to talk to you and help support you. I actually think far more people are feeling anxious about what hybrid will feel like and how the dynamics of this latest "new normal" is going to play out.
By now all of my students have received an invitation to join my Remind class for your graduating year. And, if you didn't have a phone number in IC for me to directly invite you then I have sent an email to you asking for you to join on your own. And you might be wondering why... So, with the COVID/ Hybrid policies, we cannot have students just hanging out in the front of the Counseling Center waiting for a chance to meet with their counselors. And we also cannot send passes to classrooms to request for students to come to meet with us. As a result, we are transitioning to using Remind as a way that students can text us and we can text back to you. So, this means that if you want to meet with me, you can simply stop by my office and see if I am available (just like you always did in the past) but if I'm busy with someone else or behind closed doors instead of waiting up front for me to finish or leaving me a note, you will just text me through Remind to let me know you want to meet with me. As soon as I am available I will text you back that you can come to see me. It should be a great option for those students with text message capabilities.
And if you don't have texting or a cell phone? No worries! Like always, you can still stop by my door, but if I am not available, instead of sending me a text message you can send me an email to let me know you'd like to meet.
Today I ended up getting to text back and forth through Remind with several students and it seemed quick and easy and I am excited about this transition.
I also need to remind you that this job is not a part-time job just like you going to school is not a part-time commitment! Why do I say that? Because even though you will only be in the building 2-3 days per week, you will still have academic responsibilities to do on your out of the building days. The rule of thumb is the amount of work you will be expected to do on your own days will be about equal to the amount of time you are in classes. So, if you have 6 classes (which is typical for most students) then you will be doing about 6 hours of work on those days that you are out of the building. This means it is really important that you don't think of the days as "school days" and "off days" because you will definitely NOT be off on those non-building days! The good news is that I am not off either! And, because I have about 350 students, I can't possibly fit every meeting and conversation with every student that I want to have into just the in-person days. So, I hope you will continue to reach out and meet with me via zoom in addition to our face-to-face conversations on the in-person days.
One of the strategies we are going to try out for your hybrid remote days will be a Rapid Assist Time. During this time I will be available for an hour to answer those random, quick questions that often pop up. There will be a waiting room through zoom and I will take each student in order just as if you were standing in line at my door to ask those quick questions that don't need a full appointment slot or a long conversation. My Rapid Assist Time will be on Tuesdays from 1:30-2:30pm and the Zoom link is available on Schoology. (I know that there are some students/ parents who are not in my part of the alphabet who read this blog - please note that your counselor will also have a Rapid Assist Time from 1:30-2:30, but it will be on a different date.) I am really hopeful that this will be a useful and easy way for students to connect with me as well.
I will close by reminding you that all change isn't bad. (And yes, I really do mean that which is amazing since I am NOT a fan of change!) But, the reality is, I am really hopeful that using Remind and implementing Rapid Assist Time will be two great opportunities and resources that will make our work together even more effective. So, if you haven't already approved my request to add you into my Remind class, please do so or follow the instructions in your email to sign up! I appreciate your help in this effort.
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