Staffing changes are inevitable but many staff come in unnoticed, recently Spectrum has gained two new people to the counseling department, one at the middle school and one at the high school.

Ms. Trieu is one of the two new counselors, working somewhere new can be difficult but Ms. Trieu is doing very well with adjusting. “So far at Spectrum it’s been a really welcoming community, like I’ve had kids come in and just introduce themselves and say hello and everybody here seems pretty nice!”, said Trieu. Spectrum has gained one more addition to the counseling department, Ms. Peterson, the new middle school counselor. Just  “I’m doing well so far, making sure I’m getting to both buildings because I’m at both the 6th grade building and the 7, 8th grade building, so just making sure I’m using my time at both buildings equally. So I’m adjusting pretty good!” It can be hard, but when you come to a new place you have to adjust.

We have one counselor that is returning from last year and helping the two new counselors adjust, “Yeah I think it’s been a really smooth transition having her come here. She’s been a counselor before so she kinda knew what to do when she got here and that kind of thing. So it’s been smooth. I’ve seen a lot of students coming over to her office so hopefully they’re adjusting to having her here. I think she’s done a great job.” said Ms. Kobes. Making connections is a very important to make but connections can be difficult to make sometimes. Ms. Kobes had some insight on her own connections within the counseling department, “Yeah, yeah it’s been great I think you know, it’s always nice to have another counselor to talk to and bounce ideas and concerns off of so it’s been a smooth transition in that way too. She’s been really open to not only feedback but also you know, providing me some feedback. It’s been great! She’s been a great coworker so far.” said Kobes.

Getting to know people is a big part of being able to work together. “Yeah! Definitely. We have time on Mondays to be able to get to know each other a little bit more through talking about students, we also have our staff meetings and things like that so I am starting to make some connections.” said Ms. Trieu. Ms. Peterson gave her input on getting to know the other councelers, “Yeah! No, yeah, definitely the other counselors, at the highschool, have been great resources for me to collaborate with. Also just our teachers here and in the office crew have been so helpful and have been a good team to work with and help me out when I have questions.” said Peterson

Our counselors can be helpful to students in many ways. “Yeah, you know there are lots of reasons students can come down to the guidance office. And I know there is that stigma about seeing a school counselor but we see students about all kinds of things.So it could be mental health but it could also be talking about how to get your AA degree or things going on at home. And so there’s really no reason you should feel nervous or scared to come down and see us because we’re just here to help you in any way we can. Sometimes it’s academic and sometimes it’s not but that’s all good too.” said Kobes. Ms. Trieu said. “I just want to let students know that I am a safe and confidential place to talk to. If they just need a place to come and calm down or relax or deal with anxiety issues or depression, or even just stuff going on in their life that’s making them upset. I certainly want them to be successful in school and so having a place to come and talk to someone about those issues to kind of help them get back into the right frame of mind in order to be in school that’s why I’m here!” said Ms. Peterson.

Most people have reasons that they choose to work at a school. Ms. Peterson said, “I decided to be a school counselor because in high school I was struggling just over all with grades and just not putting myself in, just seeing that I had no potential in me, no confidence. So I had a lot of self esteem with that. My counselor actually helped me realize that I can do better by providing me with resources, maybe putting me in the right classes that would help me feel successful in school and like getting me tutors also because math was a big struggle for me, and so she just helped me a lot and checking in with me as well and kinda gave me the realistic, you need to do this if you want to graduate on time. So she really helped me with that. And then that kind of pursued me to be a school counselor because she showed me my potential that made me get to be successful in college so I want to do the same thing as well.”  

The school counselors are super helpful and uplifting . “Yeah! Know that your feelings are valid and that you’re not alone in this, that everyone has these feelings and there are so many ways to manage that feeling in life. And unfortunately those feelings might never go away, like stress, anxiety, but there’s ways to manage that and help with that as you go through life because if you manage it and get through it, it will build confidence in yourself as well. So know that we’re here to help you with those, come up with tools to help you feel successful.” Ms. Peterson said. Ms. Trieu said “I certainly want them to be successful in school so having a place to come and talk to someone about those issues to kinda help them get back into the right frame of mind in order to be in school. That’s why I’m here!”. Ms. Kobes said “This is only my second year here too, and so I’m kind of getting the reins of things and so I know our students have been great with all the transitions and they’ve just really been open to you know coming down here and letting us get to know them a little bit too!” Our school councelors do so much for us every day, so make sure to go and say thank you to them.