August gives off New Years Eve vibes. You wanna pop the bottle of champagne and ring in the new school year, with fresh classroom decor and new behavior management strategies but also cry a little bit because the summer is coming to a close. August gives us all the feels but here are 5 ways to make this the best school year yet.
1. Google calendar is a life saver! Use google calendar to schedule your students and meetings. It's so easy to move, rename groups, color code and send reminder notifications to parents and teachers. It can also be very useful when scheduling with teachers so they can see what your schedule looks like and what openings
you have available.
2. Introduce yourself: Plan a time to introduce yourself to your team and teachers. I recommend making a simple powerpoint or PDF that explains what you do, how you can help, the speech referral process and some tips (such us ways to keep their voices safe while teaching). This can be 5 minutes at the end of a staff meeting. Super simple, quick and easy but a great way to set the tone and connect with your team.
3. Communicate with teachers: Create a welcome letter to teachers (separate from parents). Introduce yourself and provide times and ways for your team to contact you. Designate office hours or certain times of the day/week you can make yourself available to them. This helps avoid "hallway student chats" while you're on your way to the bathroom during your valuable 2 minute window! I also encourage teachers to write an email of their questions, because if you are anything like me I will forget by the time I get back to my office because I have students waiting right outside for me! So avoid the awkward "oops, I forgot the conversation we had" or hallway chats and set something up where you can document their concerns.
4. Set Boundaries: Yes the dreaded boundary talk. Write down 3 boundaries you plan to practice this year. Maybe its not checking your emails after a certain time, creating a designated time to speak with parents, only working until a certain time or making time for lunch and other breaks throughout the day (I would schedule back to back sessions throughout the entire day because I felt like giving services to my students was more important than my mental and physical health. But instead my students would get a tired, frustrated and scattered speech therapist. Boundaries are good for EVERYONE!
5. Keep things into PERSPECTIVE. If you're an SLP that works in the schools you are most likely not performing anything that could potentially hurt or kill a student during therapy, at least let's hope not! So if something doesn't work out, a lesson flops, a student has a behavior, a parent is unhappy...life will go on and you can only do the best you can with the TIME and RESOURCES you are given. Be open to learning and growing as a therapist and if you don't know how to do something or work with a specific student, ASK a colleague, google it, brainstorm ideas with your boss or even your students. Be open to new ideas, suggestions but also know your worth and the value you bring to your students and team.
I have a feeling this will be your best year yet! If you found these tips to be helpful share this blog with a fellow SLP and check out my free digital downloads below!
"What is Speech?" is my favorite; thank you. As a parent, I've struggled with explaining this to other parents and co-workers.