April - May 2010
The book Fifty Steps
Closer; Group Counseling Guide in Reflections of School-Aged Boys & Girls
has been making some progress in the worlds of school counseling and school
psychology. Website visits are over 70,000 since the publication of the book
and visitors to the website have been downloading backpacks and classroom
guidance activities at a steady rate! For first time website visitors, the
Notes section not only reflects activities that Dr. Nick shares with colleagues
at conferences, but they’re also the same materials he uses for classroom
guidance activities in each of his ten schools.
In the last few months,
Fifty Steps Closer has supported school counseling conferences in Kansas,
Delaware, and most recently in Pennsylvania. It’s always great to hear from our
colleagues in various regions across the United States and Canada! I enjoy sharing
information with colleagues and would like to extend an offer to come to your
state association and present the Fifty Steps Closer Program. I’ve presented in
ten states to date and hope for the opportunity to present in all fifty states
eventually!
My respect and admiration
of counselors and psychologists continues to grow as the demands of our jobs
increase in the wake economic hardships to our schools. Here in the central
valley of California, several of my counseling colleagues have been given “pink
slips” or notification that their jobs will not be available for the upcoming
2010-2011 school year. Those of us remaining in counseling positions are doing
more and more with fewer resources available to us. Let’s encourage and support
one another in keeping counseling at the top of our ever growing list of things
to do. Providing general classroom guidance, addressing specific issues
designed for group work, and crisis intervention are our top priorities.
As the school year comes
to a close, I hope you’ll finish strong. Take care of your kids while you still
have the opportunity to do so. Take care of yourselves too. I’d like to thank everyone for your support
of Fifty Steps Closer this past year and let me encourage you to visit the
website during the summer for updates on conferences and new classroom guidance
activities.
February - March 2010
The last few months have
been busy with the book. The conference in Las Vegas had a tremendous turn out.
I was glad to have a full room of counselors to present to for the Fifty Steps
Closer program. People seemed receptive to the activities and certainly could
relate to the ideas guiding the activities too! I want to thank all of those
counselors who so graciously participated in the session=)
I’ve been in contact with
several dozen graduate school psychology programs in the last few months. The
book has been requested for review by nearly forty school psych programs! To
date, the book has been sent to over two hundred school counseling and
psychology programs for consideration as a text, recommended reader, or practicum
guide.
New classroom guidance
activities are being added to the News section on the website menu list often. As
time permits, check out this section and remember
these activities are the ones I refer to as “crowd pleasers.” These activities
seem to get student’s attention and help them remember how counselors can of
service throughout their lives.
As spring takes hold, let me encourage everyone to stay well and continue to reach out to as many kids as possible. We do make a difference!
Dr. Nick
It’s
been a very good school year up to this point: lots of
kids being counseled in classrooms, small groups, and individually.
Having ten
schools is a bit of an organizational feat, however, I believe after
several
years I’m finally getting it together.
I’d
like to thank the following state counseling
associations for their support of Fifty Steps Closer in the last few
months:
New York, Utah, Maryland, and Michigan. Those were all tremendous
conferences
with great turn outs. The conferences I presented at in
Nebraska and Idaho were both outstanding as well! Well organized, lots
of good presenters and many, many, supportive
counselors. I’m really pleased with the amount of
positive feedback and number of requests I've received for the
book as a result of those conferences!
Here at
the end of January, I’ll be presenting in Las Vegas
at the Nevada State School Conference. I’m really excited for
this opportunity
to share materials with our colleagues in Nevada. I’ve got
some old favorites
and some new activities to share. Hopefully I’ll be able to
do my part in making
the conference a great success for all those attending.
In
regards to the website, I’ve added several new lesson
plans to the Notes section. Feel free to look the Notes
section over for
possible activities you may like to conduct with your students. All
activities are
geared to increase student awareness of mental health professionals and
how we
are able to help students of all ages for a variety of concerns.
As time permits, feel free to check out the video I placed on both this website and on You tube. If you go to the you tube site, type in fifty steps closer. I hope you’ll enjoy the video. I think it speaks towards what we do as counselors.
May
– September 2009
The spring and summer have
passed by so
quickly! Some good news about the book and related topics:
*The book has been
requested for review by
over 100 colleges &
universities
in the past year.
*Website hits have
exceeded 52,000!
*More conferences
have been planned for
the fall.
I’ve been
in contact with many school
counseling department faculty and chairpersons in the last 12 months.
I’m
thankful that so many faculty members have been receptive towards
considering
Fifty Steps Closer as a supplemental reader, practicum guide, or as a
text in
their counseling programs. It’s been interesting to hear from
staff members
about their various counseling programs and how the book is being, and
or being
considered for use.
Since the website has
been up and running,
there have been over 50,000 visitors who have checked out the on-line
materials! Many of those are first time viewers. However, many more
have been
using the book and downloading backpacks and lesson plans from the
Notes section.
More counseling lesson plans will be added as the school year
progresses.
Remember, I’m only adding the tried & true classroom
activities known as “crowd
pleasers” to the list of materials.
September, October,
and November are going
to be busy months for the book. I’m presenting at the
Nebraska Counseling
Association conference in Omaha on the 18th of
September. I’ll be in
Nampa, Idaho presenting at the Idaho State School Counselor’s
Conference in
early October and back to Nebraska a few weeks later to present at the
Nebraska
School Counselor Academy in Lincoln! I’m not so much for
traveling however, at
least it’s not too dark or cold out yet =) The book will also
be represented at
several other conferences in November in the form of promotional flyers
and
exhibit books. November appears to be a popular month for our
colleagues to get
together, share information and be supportive of not only one another
but our
profession.
As for me,
I’d spent my summer in prison!
That is, I worked as a psychologist in the California department of
corrections. This marked my third 11 week summer of being a prison
psychologist. I
continue to learn many
things from these experiences, particularly as it involves
understanding people,
their goals, values, and lifestyle choices. So, taking what
I’ve learned so far
from the CDC and applying to my position as school counselor, my modest
goals
for the year are quite simple:
*Help keep kids
connected to their
schools.
*Encourage/promote an
unwavering standard
of “Right
Behavior
and Right Choices.”
*Be visible and
enthusiastically active and
involved with kids in
classrooms, groups, and 1:1.
Continued
Success and many blessings throughout the school year!
Dr. Nick
March & April 2009
It has been a busy couple of months with the book and website. In the last two months the website has been visited by over 11,000 viewers! Wow! I need to thank everyone for looking at the website and sharing it with our colleagues. In that same time period, approximately a dozen graduate school counseling programs have taken up the offer of receiving a complimentary copy of the Fifty Steps Closer book for review as a potential resource for the students in their respective programs.
In the last two months the book has been promoted by the following state counseling conferences: Virginia, Delaware, Montana, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some really supportive people in each of those organizations. I appreciate their efforts in having provided book promotional flyers to each conference attendee as well as displaying a sample of the book for all to see.
In May, I’ll be presenting at the Texas state school counseling conference. I’m very excited and proud not only to be a presenter, but also a representative of California. I’ve been told that the Texas conference is always a great success and the people in Austin are as friendly as they come. It’s going to be a quick trip; arrive on Monday the fourth, present on the 5th, and fly out later that day. I’m not much of a traveler, however the honor of having been selected to present is greater than my anxiety and the hassle of traveling.
The website continues to be updated. I’ve added some new materials under the “Notes” section. The new materials include activities I’ll be presenting and or have recently presented at conferences. So for example, instead of having to take notes while attending one of my sessions, all you’ll need to do is go to the website and download the notes! I hope this not only proves to be a time saver and convenience for conference attendees but that it may also allow attendees to enjoy and participate in the sessions even more.
I’m also very appreciative and thankful for the new book review provided by Dr. Albert Ciri of Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. I’m really pleased to hear that so many counseling interns are finding the materials to be a practical and insightful resource in the development of their school counseling programs.
Once again friends, thank you so much for all the support you’ve shown in your use of the book and website materials. Remember to check back every now and then for updated news, notes, and lesson plans.
Dr. Nick
January & February 2009 News
Since the release of Fifty Steps Closer: Group Counseling Guide in Reflections of School-Aged Boys & Girls in the spring of 2008, I’ve been busy sharing! I’m been blessed to have been selected to present material from the book at several state counseling conferences including North Dakota, Minnesota, and twice in California! North Dakota was freezing in February of 08!!! I now have a much better appreciation for the term “wind chill factor” having been Bismark for a weekend of winter weather. The people, however, were kind, polite, friendly, and warm hearted. The Minnesota conference held in May of 08 was tremendous as well and much warmer. Lots of exhibitors, enthusiastic counselors, and I also spent some time with a special person or two. In November of 08 I presented at the California School Conference held in Disney Land. What a great conference and cool place to be! It was a long drive but I really had a great time and the people were incredibly kind and gracious. I should have brought more books and my swim goggles!!!
2009 is off to a good start too: my kids are in high school, doing really well and growing faster than I’d like. The book is being used in several graduate programs across the United States. Several state conference committees are currently reviewing my presenter proposals for potential presentations in the spring and fall. In February, the states of Nevada, Hawaii, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin have school counseling conferences underway. I feel fortunate to have provided those conferences with Fifty Steps Closer materials to share with our colleagues in attendance. There’s also a Leadership conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for School administrators and counselors who are being supplied information on Fifty Steps Closer. To top it all off, the Fifty Steps Closer website is receiving a bit of a make over too.
Thanks for all the support over the past 9 months and feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions, or ideas you have on the materials. Know also that I wish the best for you and your families as the year unfolds. I also wish you continued success & many blessings in all you do for kids.
Dr. Nick