Welcome Back!

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! On behalf of the 2^nd year cohort, I would like to officially welcome the 1^st years into the fall semester! Get ready for a busy, but fun, first year. You are going to be taking an array of classes that will challenge you in all different areas of your life. You will also be starting at your Practicum site! For some of you, this may be your first time working in a school, or in a counseling setting, but for all of you, it will be a way for you to expand your knowledge and skills in counseling!

I think I can speak for my cohort when I say how excited we are to be in our final year of school! (unless you are feeling ambitious and are going to get your PhD). Anyways, 9 short months and we will (hopefully) be on our way to some new jobs!

Last week, we had such an AWESOME BOND-fire in Mission Bay! I was so excited to see such a large turnout of cohort members and our friends and family! Props to the 1^st years for only missing 4 people from their cohort…2^nd years managed to get half, which we will still consider a win! I want to thank the event coordinators for organizing such an awesome event. I’m sure it was only a small preview of what they have in store for us this year. Below, you will find some of the upcoming events this year, so you can start marking down your calendars!

September/October: Making Strides of San Diego, Breast Cancer Walk-October 19th in Balboa Park
November: CASC Conference November 14-15, Double Tree Mission Valley
December: End of Semester Party!
Spring Semester: Fundraiser Comedy Show 

Lastly, I want to congratulate our two new members of the SCGSA Exectuve Board! I am so excited to finally have a full board to serve you this school year. I want to make an important note about dues. Since we now have a Treasurer, we will be looking at our funds and decide as a group what dues will be this year. So be on the lookout for that information!

 Judy Zambrano

Treasurer

 Maureen Moustapha-Council

1st Year Event Coordinator

I am very excited for this upcoming school year! If you ever have any questions, comments, concerns, ideas etc., please do not hestitate to talk to me, or anyone on the board!

Your President,

Christine

COESC 2014-2015 Board Elections!

Hello School Counseling Students:

I would like to inform you all that COESC will have board elections for the 2014-2015 school year! For those of you who are not graduating this year, I highly encourage you all to look into this amazing opportunity. It is important to have graduate students on the board to represent us on any issues and/or concerns that we might have under the school of education. All the positions are open which are the following:

•    President

•   Vice President 

•   Secretary

•   Vice President of Finance 

•   Historian 

•   Vice President of Public Relations 

Elections will be held next Wednesday April 30th at 7pm in EBE 342.   

Just a reminder of what COESC is: 

It is part of Associated Students (AS). It is composed of students interested in being involved with the College of Education and the larger University community.

SECTION 14

Duties of Executive Officers:

1. President
   1. The president should be the official representative of the COESC.
   2. Shall chair the COESC meetings.
   3. Should be a member of the AS University Council Academic Affairs Board.
   4. Should be the liaison to all campus College Councils.
   5. Shall have the power to call for special meetings for the COESC.
   6. Shall vote to make or break ties and vote for new executive officers.
   7. Shall coordinate with the COESC and the AS Elections Coordinator, to schedule and hold COESC endorsements for A.S. General Elections.
2. Vice President
   1. Shall be the chief administrative aide to the President.
   2. Shall be in charge of all duties of President in case of absence.
   3. Shall be responsible for organization of COESC community service activities.
3. Secretary
   1. Shall maintain a list of all members contact information for the COESC.
   2. Shall prepare and distribute minutes and agendas for the COESC meetings and turn in council minutes to Government Affairs Office for review by A.S. Council.
   3. Shall be in charge of all communication between members of COESC.
   4. Shall take voting and attendance records for all COESC meetings.
   5. Shall maintain records of weekly attendance of all members of COESC.
4. Vice President of Finance
   1. Shall be the officer responsible for all A.S. monies distributed to the COESC.
   2. Shall be the liaison between the COESC and the A.S. Board of Directors Financial Affairs Committee.
   3. Shall create and maintain a COESC club/organization financial report monthly to the COESC.
   4. Shall turn in next year fiscal year’s budget to the A.S. Board of Directors Financial Affairs Committee before the Financial Affairs Committee’s deadline.
   5. Shall attend a How to Spend Your A.S. Dollars workshop.
5. Vice President of Public Relations
   1. Shall be in charge of all public relations for COESC.
   2. Shall have the responsibility of publicizing COESC meetings and events.
   3. Shall coordinate the COESC display case, bulletin board, and COESC’s involvement in SDSU-wide events.
   4. Shall be responsible for updating and maintaining all the COESC’s forms of media.
6. Historian
   1. Shall be responsible to document all COESC events and create a visual account of the school year.
   2. Shall coordinate the COESC display case and bulletin board.
7. Associated Students Council Representatives
   1. Shall attend all COESC meetings.
   2. Give weekly reports to A.S. Council on the COESC’s activities.
   3. Give weekly reports to COESC on the A.S. University Council activities.

What is COESC?

•    Allows students who are part of the College of Education an opportunity to express concerns or questions relating to the college or the university. 

•   COESC brings together student organizations representing diverse fields from the College of Education including, our very own student organization, SCGSA.

Let me know if you all have any questions!!! :)

ordorica89@gmail.com 

What a successful event!

So I had this all set to publish on Tuesday and I hit a button and it alllll disappeared! And Google with its autosave.... lol  Anyway, here is my second attempt a this blog. Enjoy!

Last weekend the SCGSA hosted a beach cleanup and picnic. Can I just give a shoutout right now to Beatriz, Elva, and Laura for the great job they did putting this all together? The turnout was awesome! I think this might have been the first event in the history of the org to pull together three cohorts, and I heard people from all three talking about how great that was. Awesome job, ladies!!!

I'd like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who came out, also. You all made this event a success! The picture below I know is missing Teresa. I can't place anyone else who might be missing. But great turnout!

So we all showed up to Cardiff, looked around and thought, "Well, this place looks clean!" However, we all donned our sanitary gloves, paired up, and combed the beach for trash. We should all be impressed with the amount of trash we managed to clean up! Kathy G. even found a stray dog and spent some time finding its owner! Here, my friends, are the fruits of our labors. I don't know about you, but I feel like we made a difference.

After the cleanup we ate lunch, socialized, and then held elections! This year we had multiple people running for just about every position and every candidate was extremely qualified! Here's a shoutout to everyone who ran. I want to acknowledge the caliber of leadership this program brings to the field. You all are impressive. For real. So without further ado, I present to you:

2014-2015 SCGSA Executive Board

Christine Connolly
President

Angelica Colon
Vice President

Kristina Chavez
Secretary

Vacant
Treasurer

Beatriz Montes
Event Coordinator, 2nd Year

Rebecca Katowitz
Event Coordinator, 2nd Year

Kristy Eagle
Event Coordinator, 1st Year

Vacant
Event Coordinator, 1st Year

So as you can see, we have vacant positions for Treasurer and Event Coordinator, 1st Year. I highly encourage you to consider running for one of these positions in the Fall. The Executive Board is a fantastic opportunity to allow your leadership skills to flourish.

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to David Leftwich, whose name was drawn to receive a complimentary ASCA Membership renewal, and Leandra Ordorica, who will receive a complimentary CASC Membership renewal!

All in all, it was a fantastic day. Thanks again to everyone who came out, and congratulations to our new Executive Board and raffle winners!

Beach Cleanup, Picnic, Elections, Raffles

Hello, wonderful people!  I hope you all are enjoying your Spring Break - perhaps relaxing, perhaps being productive, hopefully a little bit of both. I, myself, have been travelling non-stop.  Spent a couple days in Sacramento on a field trip with my son and I’m back at the airport now headed to visit a couple friends in St. Louis.  Phew!

After Spring Break we have a week and then it’s time for our Beach Cleanup & Picnic!  I am really excited about this.  I know our event coordinators, Laura, Elva, and Beatriz, have put a lot of work into making this happen and we are counting on YOU to make it a success!  In case you have not RSVP’ed yet, here is the link to the Evite.  And if you have not signed up to bring anything to the potluck, here is that link as well.

In addition to the Beach Cleanup and the Picnic, we plan on holding elections for next year’s officers, as well as raffling off a couple ASCA/CASC membership renewals.  There is a form at the bottom of this blog to submit your name and desired position, so please fill that out if you plan on running so we have an idea on Sunday.  You can always choose to run for a position on the spot, though.  And per our equitable policies, absence from the event does NOT invalidate your candidacy.  Simply prepare a statement to be read and get it to a friend or officer, or Skype/Hangout in.  The officer positions and summaries of responsibilities follow.

President (2^nd year)

• ·         Represents SCGSA at all official events
• ·         Presides over meetings
• ·         Attends College of Education Student Council meetings (may rotate with other officers)
• ·         Schedules and attends all officer and general meetings
• ·         Authorizes special committees (events, fundraisers, etc.)
• ·         Assists with general tasks not assigned to other officers
• ·         Responsible for generating and driving conversations that promote the growth of SCGSA as an organization

Vice President (1^st year)

• ·         Represents SCGSA at all official events
• ·         Assists President in general tasks not assigned to other officers
• ·         Attends all officer and general meetings
• ·         May attend College of Education Student Council meetings (in rotation with other officers)
• ·         Stays knowledgeable of all Presidential tasks; prepared to preside over SCGSA in President’s absence

Secretary (1^st year)

• ·         Represents SCGSA at all official events
• ·         Attends all officer and general meetings
• ·         May attend College of Education Student Council meetings (in rotation with other officers)
• ·         Maintains records of meetings and emails meeting minutes to all members
• ·         Maintains records of member participation at meetings and events
• ·         Ensures all meetings and events are documented via photography and/or email/blog (as appropriate)

Treasurer (2^nd year)

• ·         Represents SCGSA at all official events
• ·         Attends all officer and general meetings
• ·         May attend College of Education Student Council meetings (in rotation with other officers)
• ·         Maintains organizational account at USE Credit Union, which includes processing payments and reimbursements in a timely manner
• ·         Primary consultant on all budgetary proposals
• ·         Keeps records of dues paid

Event Coordinator (1^st & 2^nd year)

• ·         Represents SCGSA at all official events
• ·         Attends all officer and general meetings
• ·         May attend College of Education Student Council meetings (in rotation with other officers)
• ·         Coordinates monthly events to address either fundraising, camaraderie, community service, or professional development
• ·         Organizes Future School Counselor Day (2^nd year)
• ·         Organizes 2^nd Year Showcase (1^st year)
• ·         Coordinates with cohort GA’s as necessary
• ·         2^nd year Event Coordinator serves as an organizational mentor to the 1^st year Event Coordinator

 Finally, SCGSA is happy to announce that we have the funding for the first time in our history to raffle off professional memberships.  As you may remember, we as an officer corps had initially thought to use extra funds for a scholarship.  Thanks to your feedback and participation, we had more discussions around the topic.  We want you all to know that this organization is here for YOU, so we are not prepared to give up the idea of giving back to the cohorts.  In order to keep everything objective and equitable, we will hold two raffles – the first for an ASCA renewal and the second for a CASC renewal.  All first year students (incoming 2^nd years) will have their names written on a raffle ticket and we will hold a random drawing.  Again, you do not need to be present to win.

Please feel free to comment here or communicate with any of the officers if you have questions or comments about anything.  If you are an incoming first year, feel free to email me, the President of the SCGSA, at maliagreen82@gmail.com and I will get back to you within 24 hours. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday, April 13^th! 

COESC Updates

Hello Wonderful Cohorts:

I would just like to update you on the College of Education Student Council Meeting:

• COESC Open Forum (I will be there)
• As Malia mentioned, there will be an opportunity to share your thoughts with the College of Education and Associated Students in order to better out College and Program. I highly encourage everyone to attend; we want to hear your opinions! 
• Wednesday, March 19 at 7pm at Scripps Cottage (Union Center)

• School Psychology Student Association (SPSA)
• Selling Padres vs. Giants Baseball Tickets  
• $20.00 a ticket for game on April 18th
• Contact one of the School Psychology students to buy a ticket if interested 

• COESC Game: Ultimate Frisbee 
• At the big lawn (the playfield in ENS 700) from 3pm-5pm on March 20th 

Thank you. Please contact me if you have any questions at ordorica89@gmail.com 

Open Forum March 19!

You may recall a recent post by our Secretary, Leandra, explaining what the College of Education Student Council is.  Well the first role of the Student Council is to provide a place for student voices to be heard.  This happens at bi-weekly at meetings where representatives from each of the student organizations share what's going on in their org and any college-related (as opposed to program-related) concerns their members may have.

It also happens at open forums like the opportunity I am sharing below!  So check out the email from the Student Council's Associated Students Rep and consider attending if there is anything you would like addressed at the college-level.

Hello College of Education students!

 

The College of Education Student Council is holding an open forum to get YOUR feedback! We want to know what is and is not going well for you. Unhappy with class sizes, professors, class registration, academic advising or lack of opportunities in your college? We want to hear what you need changed and what you need more of. Come to this open forum to give us your feedback. 

The College of Education open forum will be on Wednesday March 19^th at 7:00 pm in Scripps Cottage. If you are unable to make it and would still like to give us your feedback feel free to email me at coe.sdsu@gmail.com. Hope to see you all there!

 

As this academic year is rapidly coming to an end, the College of Education Student Council is looking for students to be officers for the next academic year. This is a great way to get involved, work directly with other students and faculty, gain leadership experience and know what is going on in your college! If you are interested feel free to email me at the email listed below or show up to our meetings that are every other Wednesday at 7:00 in EBA 342. Our next meeting will be April 2^nd.

 

Thanks!

 

-Lindsey Schaefer

College of Education Associated Students Representative

How to get the most out of the 2nd Year Showcase

Why hello again!  I hope everyone is making it through the semester without too much stress.  I know this is kind of when projects start weighing us down, so hang in there.  Just a few more weeks!

This blog is devoted to the upcoming 2nd Year Showcase.  I want to share a little bit about what it is, why it's important, and how you can get the most out of it, whether you're a first year or a second year.

But FIRST, I'd like to give a shoutout to SCGSA's AMAZING first year event coordinators, ELVA and BEATRIZ, for learning the ropes and pulling this together.  The second years are extremely grateful for your hard work.  You ladies ROCK!

So, what is this Showcase thing?  The 2nd Year Showcase is a relatively informal event where the graduating cohort prepares tri-fold poster boards of particular interventions they have implemented at their school sites.  As an ASCA Model program, we are trained to implement data-driven practices.  But more than that, we need to SHARE our data with stakeholders in order to effectively advocate for positions in schools, time in classrooms, and the importance of pulling students out of classes for individual or group counseling.  Dr. Trish Hatch has developed what is called a Flashlight, which is a specific format for preparing your data in order for it to be reader-friendly to all stakeholders - because what's the point of sharing data that nobody understands?  These Flashlights are what the second years will be showcasing at the 2nd Year Showcase.

Now why should you care?  Well, if you're a second year you should care because it's your grade, haha!  But more importantly, this is your opportunity to show your supervisors what you've been doing and how it has impacted the students at their schools.  And if you are at a site where you are the first interns there who are implementing the ASCA National Model, it's a great way to start getting the counselors on board with collecting and utilizing more data in their programs.  This is also an awesome venue for showing your other professors how you've integrated what they've taught you into your work in schools.  Can you say "Opportunity for more detailed and personalized letters of reference"?

As a first year student, this Showcase is your opportunity to do a few things.  First, it's a hands-on experience with what you will be doing next year.  You will get to see how Flashlights are created, who the different target populations might be, where does the data come from, what different kinds of interventions you could possibly implement at schools, and how effective different interventions were and why.  This Showcase is your sneak peak at your second year in schools.

So aside from walking around looking at a bunch of tri-fold posters, what can you do to really get the most out of this showcase?

1. Take pictures.  Take pictures of the posters that are interesting to you.  Not only will it jog your memory as you brainstorm interventions for your sites next year, but it'll also be a handy reference for how to lay out your presentation when it's your turn.  Although there's a specific format for the slides, everyone will present the data a little bit differently.  Find what you like and what you don't like so your poster next year is exactly the way you want it.  Also, take picture of yourselves with your cohort members.  Hello, grad school memories!
2. Ask questions.  The second years have had some challenges and hurdles in all shapes and sizes as they have worked on these interventions.  They've also found some very effective and creative ways to do certain things.  Ask them questions about their experiences and for suggestions as you prepare to design and implement interventions next year.  You can also ask them about their experiences at their different sites - what they liked, what they didn't like.  They'll be honest, and might even offer to set up a time to talk with you more in-depth.
3. Network, Network, Network.  Network with the second years.  If you really like something someone did, ask if you can get their contact information to hit them up next year.  Network with the professors.  Say hi, ask which classes they plan on teaching, and show them you are enthusiastic about your learning.  It will serve you well as you develop relationships for your letters of recommendation and reference.  And finally, network with the Fieldwork supervisors.  Thinking you want to be placed at Steele Canyon?  Preuss?  Westview?  Approach the supervisor, show your interest, and ask about getting placed there next year.  Placements go to those who advocate FIRST.

So here's a little cheat sheet for you.  Below is a picture of each of the supervisors, which schools they're at, and which second year students are placed there.  You can also click the school names to check out the websites.  The Showcase is still a couple months out, but it's never too early to start that networking!

The Preuss School UCSD (Christine Alves & Kathy Ng)

Erin Patrick

Steele Canyon High School (Erika Garcia & Rachel Pekin)

Nell Clark

Shannon Roberts

Westview High School (Heather Lampron & Paula Macias-Gonzalez)

Vanessa Crawford

Mission Hills High School (Kathy Granite & Michelle Ferrer)

Cherryl Baker

Hoover High School (Laura Romo, Mark Braun, Malia Green, Cathia Sanchez)

Andrea Munoz

Theron Maas

Sweetwater High School (Zorayda Delgado & LeLycia Henderson)

Lysabeth Lausing-Garcia

Expect an Evite in the near future, but mark your calendars now for May 8, 2014 from 6:30-8:00.  Dr. Estrada will be cancelling his 7:00 class that night, so be sure to give him lots of G R A T I T U D E!!!