Since I know we are all busy report writing, counseling, solving the world’s problems and more, I wanted to share with you all what I shared with my email subscribers early this month: 5 quick and relatively easy ways to celebrate SPAW and our profession of school psychology.  (NASP has a bunch here as well).  If you have any other great ideas, please pass them along so I can share with other readers as well!  You can find the printable for these in the Freebies section of my blog.

SPAW Idea #1:  What does a School Psychologist do?
The first is simple and one of my favorites…visit a classroom (I love doing this with Kindergarten/1st graders) and talk to the kids about what your job is!  Bring the field of school psychology to the future psychs! I love to bring props to make it really exciting (in the word of young elementary students), and keep things general.  Here are some of the examples I’ve used:

Emoji:  I help kids with all kinds of feelings, big ones, small ones and everything in between.  I help kids learn about all feelings and help them when they are having tough ones like sadness or anger.
Glasses:  I help kids see things a different way.  I give them an example of a child who gets in trouble in class and then thinks he’s having the “worst day ever”, and how I work with him to turn it around.
Pencil:  I help kids and teachers to know how kids learn best by doing a variety of activities and “games” with them (AKA TESTING, haha).  
Fidget/Calming Tool:  I help kids who need to move around a lot, or that need special tools in the classroom, to learn what those things are and how to use them.
Puzzle piece:  I help kids solve problems with others, and help them with friendship problems.

I’ve added other things throughout the years…I mostly just hunt around for good props in my office and house and then go from there!

 

SPAW Idea #2:  Goodies
Some years I’ve prepared ahead and put treats in people’s mailboxes.  Since SPAW falls shortly after Halloween, you can totally find deals on snacks and candy.  I got these mini granola bars at Target and they are a perfect little treat.  I also included one I used for KIND bars in the past (for a smaller group).

 

SPAW Idea #3:  Celebrate your fellow Psychs
Maybe you work at multiple schools, or you just love celebrating with your other School Psychs.  SPAW is the perfect time to share the love with them, the people who know what school psychology is all about!

SPAW Idea #4:  Brag about all you do
Definitely the easiest option, send your school(s) an email to let them know it’s School Psychology Awareness Week, and let them know all the things you can do, or are already doing!  I 100% suggest adding a hilarious School Psych themed meme at the end of this.

Here’s a quick example: 
“Happy Monday Everyone!
Did you know that this week is School Psychologist Awareness week?  I know, you’re all aware of who I am (and if you are not, stop by and let’s chat!), but here are some of the roles I have.  Don’t you all wonder what I’m doing behind that door sometimes?

School Psychologists:

Provide support and intervention to students, consult with teachers and staff, work with families and other professionals, all working to support children’s mental health and academic needs.  They conduct psychological and academic assessments to determine the needs of students and help with their academic planning.

During one day you may see me:

Testing students

Running lunch bunch groups

Conducting individual counseling sessions

Faciliatting social skills on the playground

Supporting student conversations in the lunchroom

Working with regular education teachers, special education teachers and paraprofessionals to support students.

Answering crisis calls for students in need

Thanks for learning more about School Psychologists with me!  And here’s something to make you laugh today:  (insert meme here).



SPAW Idea #5:  Feed the people

Let’s face it, one of the best parts of working in schools are the faculty room snacks, am I right?  One of the things I do most often for SPAW is just to stick a basket of treats in the Faculty Room with a note about School Psychologists roles.

Again, here’s the link for the Freebies section to grab these printables for your own use!