The Colgan Counselor

Mrs. Handville is joined by Ms. Tiana Noble, who shares her counseling background as well as what she loves about being a member of the Colgan community!

In this series of the Colgan Counseling podcast, join Analise Watts, senior, and Mrs. Flaherty, school counselor, as they share the stories of Colgan students building their resiliency for coping with the stresses of everyday life.

En este episodio, nos enfocamos en una conversación en español sobre los beneficios de tomar clases avanzadas en Colgan High School. Cuatro estudiantes conversan con el Sr. Agosto, y también ofrecen sus experiencias sobre sus cursos. In this episode, we focus on a conversation in Spanish about the benefits of taking advanced courses at Colgan High School. Four students converse with Mr. Agosto and also offer their experiences about their courses.

Mrs. Handville speaks with Ms. Kathleen An about what brought her to school counseling and her favorite things about working with Colgan students and families.

In this episode, we celebrate Mrs. Levette Hull being recognized by the Virginia Department of Education as a School Counselor Difference Maker. As the high school counselor nominee for PWCS, Mrs. Hull is acknowledged for her ability to build strong relationships with families and navigate difficult topics and conversations in order to best support students. Hear Mrs. Handville share the qualities she admires in Mrs. Hull, and Mrs. Hull gives her favorite things about working with students and at Colgan High School.

In this episode, Mrs. Handville is joined by Briana Milton, the Administrative Coordinator for School Counseling K-12, in the PWCS Office of Student Services. Hear their discussion on counseling supports for PWCS students and families.

Mrs. Handville is joined by Dr. Byrd, Mrs. Hull, and Mrs. Flaherty to discuss timely information for junior students and families.

In this episode, Claire Handville (Director of School Counseling), Karyn Riddle (Assistant Principal), and Leah Byrd (College & Career Counselor) discuss the components, benefits, and goals of the Colgan Internship Experience, an opportunity for seniors to spend a couple weeks at the end of their senior year interning at a site of their choosing.

In this episode, Claire Handville is joined by two counselors, Stephanie Swift and Ashley Weiser, as they discuss the Signs of Suicide lesson being taught to all 9th and 10th grade students this week, as well as signs to take notice of, steps students can take to refer their friends for more support, and resources available to parents and families.

In this episode, Mrs. Colassard speaks with Mrs. Handville about the process and journey in rethinking our fall academic letter from a ceremony to a celebration.

Join Mrs. Handville (Director of School Counseling), with Ms. An and Mrs. Flaherty (School Counselors) as they discuss the stress levels of students as we started the new school year, along with stress management and coping skills for students (and adults!).

Join Mrs. Handville (Director of School Counseling) as she speaks with Dr. Byrd (College & Career Counselor) and Ms. Colassard (School Counselor) about information for the class of 2022 families, summarizing what has already occurred this year (and where you can find any information) as well as what to expect for the remainder of the year.

It's that time of year, where many seniors are making decisions about their postsecondary plans after high school. However, some of you may be undecided about your plans, navigating waitlists, or receiving news that you didn't get into the college you wanted to attend. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Byrd, our College and Career Counselor, about how we navigate some of these situations by keeping perspective, using our voices, and making a plan.

We're nearing the end of the school year, which can be a stressful time of year for anyone. With the additional stress of entering the second year of this pandemic, we all need a minute sometimes. Mrs. Flaherty joins Ms. Mertins in this episode to talk about mindfulness and how it can help us take a pause to check in on how we're doing right now. We also discuss different mindfulness strategies we can use to help cope with however we're doing right now.

2020 was a year, am I right? While we are still navigating many of the same challenges as last year, and maybe some new ones, the new year is a time we can use to reflect on the previous year and look ahead to what we want this new year to look like. In this episode, we talk through some ways we are doing this practice ourselves, and we invite you to join us as we continue on into 2021. It may be March, but it's never too late to engage in the practice of reflection and setting intentions and goals for ourselves.

In this month's episode, we get to talk with a Colgan Class of 2021 senior, Sydney Thaxton, about the challenges students continue to face this year; how she stays hopeful; and how we connect with intention when we're feeling so disconnected.

The Colgan Counselor podcast is back for a new and very different year, with new hosts, Ms. White and Ms. Mertins! In this episode, Ms. White and Ms. Mertins discuss how we may find ourselves stuck in the "doom and gloom" of these times. When we are experiencing the waves of adversity it can be hard to look around and notice the people in our lives who are there to support us, our "lifeboats." We are also putting a call out for students to create a jingle for the podcast this year. Send your musical creations our way!

In the final episode of the 2019-2020 school year, Mr. Harvey is joined by Colgan Counselors Mrs. Levette Hull, Mr. Jean Agosto, and Ms. Alyson Richardson for a discussion on what it means to be an ally in the Black Lives Matter movement.

In this special edition of The Colgan Counselor podcast, Colgan Counselors Mrs. Levette Hull, Dr. Leah Byrd, and Ms. Shontell White discuss the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery cases. Together, they discuss how they have been personally processing, ways that black students can make their voices heard, and resources to help anyone who may be struggling at this time.

Getting along with difficult people and finding time to yourself can be hard for any of us even in normal times; in quarantine, these things can seem impossible at times. That's why in this episode of The Colgan Counselor, Mr. Harvey, Mrs. Mertins, and special guest/Colgan Counselor Mrs. Levette Hull take the issue head on, discussing creative ways to manage the hard issue of socialization in a pandemic and beyond.

A lot of attention is paid today to the question of finding the right college, but it often seems that much less focus is given to finding the right career. In this podcast, Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins are joined by Dr. Leah Byrd (Colgan's College and Career Counselor) and Roger Latimer, who has spent his career working in the welding field across Northern Virginia. Together, they share stories of how they found their career paths, and they offer tips on how you can start to find yours.

In this episode, Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins are joined by Ms. Shontell White, another of Colgan's school counselors, for a discussion on the concept of "self-care." They discuss some of the shortcomings of the term the way it's conceived in today's world, and then look into the basics of Ms. White's term "self-prioritization." They discuss the differences between the two, and the importance of considering oneself in one's decisions.

Colgan Freshman Palmer Denny and Colgan History teacher Ms. Rashida Outlaw join Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins as they look at various figures they admire in history (including Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, the Apostle Paul, and more) and ways that they overcame adversity personally and professionally.

In the second episode of a brief series focused on the intersection of Language Arts and Emotional Regulation, Colgan senior Marney Doyle and Colgan English/Language Arts teacher Ms. Dana Hawker join Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins for a discussion on using reading as a coping tool. They discuss the idea of escapism, of learning grit from characters, and more.

More than just a way to earn good grades or establish a point, writing can be a powerful tool with which we can manage, regulate, and even confront difficult personal emotions. In this episode, Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins join Colgan seniors Patricia Murphy and Theresa Green as well as Colgan English teacher Ms. Lockhart to talk about a variety of ways that we can write to have power over our feelings and various life situations.

In part two of our "Road to College" podcast, Colgan senior Jessie Brown and Colgan junior Sydney Thaxton return alongside Dr. Byrd and Mr. Harvey for a discussion on how to choose the right college for you. With the help of special guest Whitney Godwin, a recruiting coordinator for West Virginia University's Reed College of Media who often visits schools in Northern Virginia, they discuss factors such as campus fit, program availability, financial considerations, and mascot awesomeness.

In the first of a two-part segment on the process of looking at colleges, Colgan's College and Career Counselor Dr. Leah Byrd and special guests Jessie Brown (a Colgan senior) and Sydney Thaxton (a Colgan junior) join Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins. Together, they discuss what high school students can do to prepare for college from the moment they start freshman year, and Jessie and Sydney share some of their own experiences from the process.

In an exciting episode on the intersection of theatre and social-emotional wellness, host Mr. Harvey and co-host Mrs. Mertins are joined by Colgan senior Asjah Benson, Colgan theatre director Mr. Warkentien, and special guest Eva Barnewitz. Eva, an expert therapist based out of Germany who also is a member of an improvisational theatre troupe, shares ways that the principles of improv can be applied to help us face challenges and day-to-day life. The Colgan crew chime in with their own insight, including stories about character work on previous plays as well as a special section where they reminisce on the theatrical contributions of the Class of 2020.

Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Mertins are joined by Colgan senior Margaret Calder and special guest Dr. Tori Stone, popular speaker and assistant professor in George Mason's graduate Counseling and Development program, for a discussion on how to emotionally regulate when a pandemic seems to have turned the world upside down. The group also discusses resiliency, highlighting the incredible ability of humans, especially kids, to bounce back from major challenges.

Worried about what to do with college in a global pandemic? Dr. Leah Byrd, Colgan's College and Career Counselor, joins host Mr. Wilson Harvey (Colgan school counselor) and co-host Mrs. Lindsey Mertins (who will be joining the Colgan staff as a school counselor in 2020-21) to talk about what colleges are doing to help incoming students. The counselors also get real about ways they've been practicing self-care while social distancing.

Welcome to The Colgan Counselor - the Colgan High School School Counseling Department's very own podcast! It's a space where counselors, educators, students, and experts from the fields of social/emotional wellness and academics come together to discuss the issues facing today's high school student. Thanks for listening, and tune in every week for new episodes!