Counselor's Notebook, March 2015

MASCA

MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COUNSELORS ASSOCIATION

VOL. 51, NO. 7

MARCH 2015

Join us for the Annual Spring Conference

Pete the Cat: Teaching, the Fun Way

By DONNA BROWN MASCA Executive Director

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ave you met Pete the Cat yet? The cobalt blue (yes, blue) cat is a favorite of my students and me. In fact, I have come to love Pete.

I first met Pete several years ago in a gallery in Savannah, Georgia. His “dad,” James Dean, had adopted a stray black cat who did a lot of silly cat things around the house. Dean started sketching Pete, focusing on an adult market. I bought an early print for my husband that featured Pete with a corded computer mouse dangling from his mouth, staring at the viewer. Dean’s friends suggested that buyers might not like a black cat, so Pete became a lovely shade of blue.

Enter Eric Litwin, a songwriter, performer, and story teller. He tracked down James Dean (literally) and pitched an idea for a children’s book using Pete the Cat. Thus, Pete the Cat started singing and telling his story.

The Pete the Cat stories are ideal for school counselors to use in elementary classroom lessons. Positive attitudes, kindness, resiliency, and problem solving are all features in these colorful picture books. Pete’s world isn’t perfect, but he goes through each day looking for the good in every situation.

In the first Pete book, I Love My White Shoes, Pete has new white shoes that turn various colors as he stomps through a strawberry patch, blueberries,

mud, and, finally, a puddle. As his new shoes change color, Pete keeps grooving along, changing his song about loving his white shoes to: I love my red shoes, I love my blue shoes, I love my brown shoes. And on it goes because “it is all good.” Pete is unflappable, even when his new shoes are soaked.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons offers both an introduction to subtraction and resiliency. Pete goes out wearing his favorite shirt with four groovy buttons. He sings a song about how much he loves the buttons on his shirt.

Suddenly, one of the buttons pops off and rolls away. As part of the math lesson, children are asked how many but(continued on page 2)

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ome join us for an exciting professional development and networking experience this spring.

The Annual MASCA Spring Conference is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 7. A pre-conference workshop will be offered in the afternoon on Monday, April 6, and it will be followed by a President’s Reception & Awards Ceremony.

A one-time registration fee will include access to all events, which will be held at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough. A discounted hotel room rate is available for conference attendees. Check out the “Events” tab on the MASCA website (www.masca.org) for a summary of the conference program and information about the keynote speaker, pre-conference workshop, online registration, the hotel link, and much more. ■

MASCA Preconference Professional Development Workshop Monday, April 6, 2015 • 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

MASCA Annual Spring Conference Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Go to www.masca.org for details.

RESEARCH NOTES Teens continue Indoor tanning “Indoor tanning remains a persistent part of American adolescence, popular all year but especially in winter, when bodies are palest. A review of the scientific evidence published last year estimated that tanning beds account for as many as 400,000 cases of skin cancer in the United States each year, including 6,000 cases of melanoma, the deadliest form....

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Public health experts say tanning remains a persistent problem, especially among white teenage girls, a full third of whom say they have tanned indoors, more than the share who smoke cigarettes.”

— Sabrina Tavernise, “Teens remain at risk from tanning fad,” New York Times, January 11, 2015. ■

BROWN (continued from page 1) tons Pete now has. They answer, three.

The story then returns to Pete. The narrator asks, “Did Pete cry?” The answer (usually shouted out by the class) is “Goodness, no!” because “buttons come and buttons go.” Pete continues on his way, singing and periodically losing another button until all of them have popped off and rolled away. As before, the class is asked “Did Pete cry?” and the answer still is “Goodness, no! Buttons come and buttons go.” At this point, Pete looks down and discovers “my bellybutton, my bellybutton” and keeps singing his song. It’s a funny, appropriate ending that shows children how to make the best of a situation and see that “it is all good.”

The newest book, Pete the Cat and the New Guy, addresses several issues including being different, trying and failing at something new, and finding what you are good at. The story also uses rhyming patterns and sequencing (the days of the week).

The new guy is Gus, a platypus. Initially, Pete is too shy to knock on Gus’ door, so he just skateboards by. The next day, he meets Gus and the two of them go off to play. They meet a squirrel who invites them to climb the tree. Pete does this handily; Gus can’t climb. The next day, they meet Grumpy Toad, who invites them to play leapfrog. Again, Gus tries to leap but fails. The octopus tries to teach them to juggle, but Gus can’t. Discouraged, Gus tells Pete that there is nothing fun for him to do and he goes home. Pete feels sad because he has told Gus that everyone can do something well.

Suddenly, Pete hears cool drumming coming from across the street. He goes to check this out and finds Gus rocking on the drums. He’s thrilled and invites Gus to join the rest of the guys. By story’s end, the whole diverse gang is rocking out with their garage band — and it is all good.

The Pete the Cat books provide counselors with a fun, positive vehicle to teach some of life’s lessons. Teachers across the country have posted Pete the Cat activities that can be used in conjunction with the books. Googling Pete the Cat activities will produce coloring pages, matching games, discussion questions, and interdisciplinary exercises. Additionally, the themes and concepts presented in the books support many of the benchmarks and competencies of the MA Model. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

RESEARCH NOTES 2014 – 2015 OFFICERS PRESIDENT TINA KARIDOYANES Mansfield High School 250 East Street, Mansfield, MA 02048 E-mail: president@masca.org PAST PRESIDENT THERESA A. COOGAN, Ph.D. Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA 02325 Tel. 508-531-2640 E-mail: theresa.coogan@bridgew.edu PRESIDENT-ELECT RUTH CARRIGAN Whitman-Hanson Regional High School 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA 02382 Tel. 781-618-7434 • Fax 781-618-7098 E-mail: Ruth.Carrigan@whrsd.org VICE PRESIDENT ELEMENTARY VERONICA KNIGHT Lowell Elementary School 175 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA 02472 Tel. 617-926-2666 E-mail: veronica.knight@watertown.k12.ma.us

Blue light is detrimental to sleep “Use of a light-emitting electronic book (LE-eBook) in the hours before bedtime can adversely impact overall health, alertness and the circadian clock, which synchronizes the daily rhythm of sleep to external environmental time cues, according to Harvard Medical School researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital….

‘We found the body’s natural circadian rhythms were interrupted by the shortwavelength enriched light, otherwise

known as blue light, from these electronic devices,’ said Anne-Marie Chang, corresponding author and associate neuroscientist at Brigham and Women’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders.”

Other devices emitting blue light include laptops, cellphones, and LED monitors.

— Elaine St. Peter, “E-Readers Foil Good Night’s Sleep,” Harvard Medical School, http:// hms.harvard.edu/news/e-readers-foil-goodnights-sleep, January l5, 2015. ■

VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE / JUNIOR HIGH KATHLEEN SCOTT E-mail: scottk@amesburyma.gov VICE PRESIDENT SECONDARY JOHN S. STEERE Wellesley High School 50 Rice Street, Wellesley, MA 02481 Tel. 781-446-6290 x4653 • Fax 781-446-6308 E-mail: john_steere@wellesley.k12.ma.us VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATORS TBA VICE PRESIDENT POSTSECONDARY JOHN MARCUS Dean College 99 Main Street, Franklin, MA 02038 Tel. 508-541-1509 • Fax 508-541-8726 E-mail: jmarcus@dean.edu VICE PRESIDENT COUNSELOR EDUCATORS MEGAN KRELL, Ph.D.; AMY L. COOK, Ph.D. E-mail: vpcounselored@masca.org VICE PRESIDENT RETIREES JOSEPH D. FITZGERALD, Ed.D. 5 Progress Street, Weymouth, MA 02188 Tel. 781-264-3426 E-mail: jdfitz1831@gmail.com EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DONNA M. BROWN Adjunct Professor, UMass Boston P.O. Box 366, 779 Center Street Bryantville, MA 02327 Tel. 781-293-2835 E-mail: executivedirector@masca.org TREASURER ASHLEY CARON 25 Belmont Ave., Stoughton, MA 02072 Tel. 508-212-0676 E-mail: ashcicero@hotmail.com SECRETARY KATIE KOZAK E-mail: secretary@masca.org MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR DONNA BROWN E-mail: membership@masca.org WEBMASTER / TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR ROSS WOLFSON E-mail: webmaster@masca.org; info@masca.org COORDINATOR OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HELEN O’DONNELL, Ed.D. E-mail: pdchair@masca.org COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK EDITOR SALLY ANN CONNOLLY 19 Bayberry Road, Danvers, MA 01923 Tel. 978-774-8158 • Fax 978-750-8154 E-mail: sallyconnolly@att.net

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FOCUS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY “Football has the highest injury rate among team sports.”

— Christopher M. Filley, MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO

Playing football before age 12 increases risk MINNEAPOLIS — Former National Football League (NFL) players who participated in tackle football before the age of 12 were more likely to have memory and thinking problems in adulthood, according to a new study published in the January 28, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology….

For the study, researchers tested 42 former NFL players with an average age of 52. All of the participants had experienced memory and thinking problems for at least six months. Half of the players participated in tackle football before the age of 12 and half did not. The number of concussions sustained was similar between the two groups.

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The study found that compared with former NFL players who started football at age 12 or later, former players who started before age 12 performed significantly worse on all test measures, even after researchers took into account the total number of years of football played and the age of the players at the time of the tests….

“Our study suggests that there may be a critical window of brain development during which repeated head impacts can lead to thinking and memory difficulties later in life,” said Stern. “If larger studies confirm this association, there may be a need to consider safety changes in youth sports.”

Larger and newer cars can reduce teenage driver fatalities “Per mile driven, the crash rate (nonfatal and fatal) is three times higher for teenaged drivers than for adult drivers in the U.S. Drivers of heavier and better-designed cars are less likely to die in a crash….

Teenagers were significantly more likely

than adults to have been driving a mini or small car (29% vs. 20%) and significantly less likely to have been driving a large pickup truck (10% vs. 17%). Teenagers were also more likely to have been driving older cars compared with adults (cars aged 6–10 years, 21% vs. 13%; 11–15 years, 20% vs. 12%).”

— Alain Joffe, MD, MPH, FAAP reviewing McCartt AT and Teoh ER. Inj Prev 2014 Dec 18, “Types of Cars Driven by Teenagers in Fatal Crashes,” NEJM Journal Watch, www.jwatch.org, January 23, 2015.

Obese children may be developing heart problems A study reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (October 8, 2014) found early signs of heart trouble in obese children: higher blood pressure, higher levels of bad cholesterol, lower levels of good cholesterol, and larger heart chambers.

— http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/ 10/141008203940.ht ■

COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Reach Higher Massachusetts: What is Your Commitment?

By RUTH CARRIGAN MASCA President-Elect

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ver the past few months, I hope you have heard a lot about the Reach Higher initiative in Massachusetts through MASCA e-mails from Bob Bardwell and articles in the Counselor’s Notebook.

For those of you unfamiliar with the program, the goal of the initiative is to help inspire every student in America to take charge of his/her future by completing education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college, or a four-year institution.

In Massachusetts, we have challenged our members to make a commitment to try something new and/or different beyond activities that are already part of their school counseling programs. Now, we’d like to hear about commitments or pledges that counselors across the Commonwealth have made. Remember, commitments can be large or small scale but should focus on creating a culture of continuing education and training beyond high school. If you have implemented a new or different counseling activity to help your students “reach higher,” please let us know by following the link below. We are excited to hear about the impact you are making on the lives of your students.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Reach Higher initiative in Massachusetts, our next planning meeting will be held on Thursday, March 19, from 8:30 -11:30 a.m. at the MSSAA office, 33 Forge Parkway, Franklin. At this meeting, we hope to review progress made at the San Diego White House Convening, discuss goals for the program, and make some concrete plans to move the Reach Higher Massachusetts initiative forward.

If you would like to join us for this important work, please contact me at Ruth.Carrigan@whrsd.org. We also encourage you to attend the MASCA Annual Conference in April, where folks involved in the Reach Higher Initiative in Massachusetts will be conference presenters.

We hope that you will be part of this state-wide collaborative effort to help all students become college and career ready for life beyond high school. ■ MARCH 2015

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Remapping the College Decision

By WILL ENGLISH TEAMM Program Counselor, North Andover High School

Counselors can serve students best by informing them about all options, including those beyond their borders.

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grew up in an American family where all the siblings decided to tear up the standard college playbook and pursue education in Canada. (All three of us continued on to earn master’s degrees, and all are successfully pursuing careers in the United States.)

What we gained in Canada was an international experience, a world-class education, and a great value. Tuition in Canada is significantly lower than in comparable U.S. schools, and — depending on the exchange rate — that difference can prove to offer an even more substantial discount. As I write, the Canadian dollar is $.87 on the U.S. dollar.

In my family it was my older brother, eight years my senior, who discovered Canada as an educational destination.

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His decision to attend McGill University was clinched when he compared the bursar’s statement from McGill with his top U.S. pick, a well-known liberal arts college. McGill was less than half the price, even without financial aid.

McGill is usually the one name a typical American school counselor can come up with when asked about educational options in Canada. Its attractive campus in downtown Montreal is six hours from Boston, and thanks to consistent pressure from students, the university has maintained tuition rates that are low even by Canadian standards. Given the large number of U.S. applicants, McGill can be quite selective in the number of Americans it accepts.

But McGill is by no means the only

game in town. Many other schools in Canada offer a quality educational experience.

My sister attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Like McGill, Queen’s is one of the “Canadian Ivies,” an internationally recognized research institution with high academic standards. For her first year my sister elected to study in a fifteenth-century castle in England, a facility that was a gift to the school and now serves as a study abroad center.

Kingston itself is a beautiful historic town in a popular vacation area, hugging the shores of Lake Ontario; and thanks to its many discriminating visitors, Kingston is also home to dozens of great restaurants.

I attended King’s College, a small, selective school set around a quad in Halifax, Nova Scotia. One notable distinction of Kings is its widely-respected and highlycompetitive great books program, which is available to first-year students. Kings’ campus offers an intimate, collegial setting in a beautiful maritime city. Halifax is also home to several other schools, including Dalhousie University, which is adjacent to Kings and shares its facilities and course offerings with Kings students.

With its robust student population, the ambiance of Halifax is reminiscent of Boston’s lively college town feeling.

Recently, I attended a college fair in Newton put on by the Canadian Consulate in Boston. I was excited to see more than 100 students seriously considering Canada as a potential college destination. While there, I learned about several other interesting Canadian schools, including Quest University in British Columbia, an exciting campus where students have the chance to design their own program of studies.

With the tuition rates in American schools continuing to rise, as counselors we would do well to inform our students about all their options, including the advantages of Canada as an educational destination. ■ COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK

Professional Development News

By HELEN C. O’DONNELL, Ed.D. MASCA Professional Development Coordinator

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elcome to a spring full of wonderful professional development opportunities designed especially for school counselors!

Join the 2014 Institutes cohorts of MA Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs and past Institute participants for a workshop and reunion on Monday, April 6, at the Holiday Inn in Boxboro from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Celebrate MASCA’s milestone recognizing one hundred MA Accountability Report Cards (MARCs and MARC JR.’s).

The topics tentatively scheduled include: ASCAs Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success, Designing Assessments, iPads for School Counselors (hands-on workshop), Individual Learning Plans, practitioner panels (DDMs, CCR curriculum implementation initiatives, StandardsBased Lessons), MARC JR. showcase, and collegial networking.

The cost of the workshop/reunion is $25 per person. Certificates of Attendance will be provided. Registration details and agenda can be found at www.masca.org or e-mail me at pdchair@masca.org or helenod@att.net. All MASCA colleagues are welcome to attend.

ships. These include: • Recorded PD webinars • Three new graduate level courses (45 MASCA PDPs or 3 graduate credits) • College Advising (face-to-face) • Financing Postsecondary Education (online)

• Building School Counseling Curriculum (face-to-face and hybrid) We urge you to attend the MASCA Annual Spring Conference to be held on Tuesday, April 7. For information and registration details, go to MASCA’s website, www.masca.org. ■

MA Model Institutes The 2015 MA Model Institutes are now open for registration. The kick-off date is Monday, April 6, with additional training dates to join the cohorts during the summer and fall. The Introductory MA Model Institute for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs and the Institute 2.0: Next Steps will be offered once again for 45 MASCA PDPs, with the option of three graduate credits from Fitchburg State University for an additional fee. Information and registration are posted on MASCA’s website or contact pdchair@masca.org.

MASCA PD Initiatives Reach Higher MA has inspired the Professional Development Committee to explore exciting new MASCA PD opportunities and develop new PD partnerMARCH 2015

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Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK Sally Ann Connolly, Editor

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