From the Chair: Creativity for Ourselves

When I was growing up, the start of the school year was synonymous with choosing a new pair of shoes, the smell of my freshly sharpened yellow pencils, and a mix of excitement with a twinge of nervousness for the possibilities of the school year ahead. Now, as an adult in education, I’m no longer sharpening those pencils and a lot of my shoes are delivered to my doorstep in a box with a quick and easy return policy. However, I still start each school year with the happy anticipation of new beginnings and opportunities. We often hear of New Year’s resolutions at the start of the new calendar year, but I save my resolutions or goals for the start of the academic year, late summer and early fall. As the summer winds down each year, I make a date with myself at a local coffee shop. Armed with a hot tea and a treat from the bakery, I reflect on the successes and challenges from the previous school year and make plans for the year to come. I set goals for my program, student initiatives and plans for my own professional development and growth. I also add in my personal goals and family scheduling. As a mom to three young children, I think about carpools, after-school activities and family meals. I pencil in goals for my workout routine, dates with my spouse, and appointments with the vet, with the dentist and for medical check-ups. I appreciate planning, and I start the school year with a blueprint of priorities and goals, both professionally and personally.
 
The focus of this VSCA newsletter edition is creative school counseling. We often think of creative school counseling as strategies and programs for our students and schools, such as bibliocounseling, arts integration, yoga, EcoWellness and so forth. But what about creative strategies for ourselves? We know about the importance of self-care and burn-out prevention. What about implementing creative self-care and burn-out prevention for ourselves?
 
As you are RAMPing up the school year (pun intended), what new goals can you develop to take care of yourself? What is innovative and creative, and perhaps out of your comfort zone? Is there something you’ve been meaning to make time for? Something you’ve been wanting to try? As for me, I tried some new creative things this past year. I took my children to a trampoline park for the first time; I finally joined Twitter (and have really enjoyed it); I went to my first Zumba class; and I started a family vegetable garden. All of these were fun, provided me with self-care and a release, and were things I’d been considering for some time.
 
As school counselors, we excel at planning and implementing data-driven comprehensive school counseling programs to serve our students and schools. We are also skilled at using creative and novel strategies to engage our students and keep up with the latest best practices and educational trends. As this school year starts and you make your goals for the year, I challenge you think not just about your students, school, staff and community. I challenge you to make creative counseling goals for yourself: to support yourself, to stretch yourself, and to nurture yourself. What has been on your bucket list? What have you been meaning to try? What is a new way to provide yourself with nourishment and self-care?
 
Perhaps it’s time for us to break out those newly sharpened pencils and a fresh notepad to make creative plans for our own growth and self-care for the school year ahead.
 
Contact Emily Goodman-Scott, VSCA board chair, at vscachairman@gmail.com.