Internship
Whitman Middle School
100 Corthell Ave.
Whitman, MA 02382-1878
Phone: 781-618-7035 | Fax: 781-618-7091
George Ferro, Principal - Mike Grable, Assistant Principal
Dr. Stephen Gustin, School Adjustment Counselor
Mrs. Kate Salas, School Guidance Counselor
Mrs. Kristen Orlandella, School Psychologist
During this internship I spent 100 hours at Whitman Middle School in spring 2011. During this time I was supervised by Stephen Gustin and Kate Salas. Even though the guidance staff have different titles, all the staff in the office work together. Students are able to see any staff member they feel more comfortable with. The staff members collaborate together in order to have a successful office and school.
I was able to see how important good communication is for students to be successful. The guidance staff makes themselves available to students at all times, and by working lunch duty they are able to see students outside of their office and create more relationships. One of my favorite parts about school guidance in the middle school is you never know what will walk through your door each morning. Not always knowing what the agenda is for each day is an exciting challenge that helped me become a better school counselor.
During my time at Whitman Middle School I:
- worked with small groups of 8th graders transitioning to high school
- met one on one with students
- worked with students applying to private high schools
- help organize, facilitate, and collect MCAS
- went into the class with a therapy dog to help students read
- attended 504 and IEP meetings
- observe parent and staff meetings
- worked lunch duty
- attend and participate in staff meetings
- and much more.
Practicum
Whitman – Hanson Regional High School
600 Franklin St., Whitman, Massachusetts 02382
Phone: 781.618.7020 | Fax: 781.618.7084
Mr. Jeffrey Szymaniak, Principal - Mr. David Floeck, Assistant Principal
Ruth Carrigan, Director of Guidance
During this practicum I completed 150 hours at the Whitman Middle School, and 450 hours at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. I was supervised by Mrs. Ruth Carrigan during this time.
Learning from Ruth Carrigan and her staff has been an amazing experience. I have seen so many different styles of school counseling and they are all successful, which helped me know it is okay to be yourself, and there is not one way of counseling. I have learned and been able to apply new skills which have helped me grow as a student and counselor from all the staff members at the high school.
During my time at WHRSD I have:
- presented at senior parent meetings
- presented at early college planning night
- set up information on students with low MCAS scores
- worked with seniors in college essay workshops
- worked with juniors on career and college exploration
- worked with freshmen in small group orientations
- helped seniors understand the college application process
- worked with students one on one
- worked with a girls social skills group
- helped students with organizational skills
- administered MCAS, PSAT's, SAT's, and MEPA standarized tests
- met with at risk students
- observed at risk senior meetings, 504 and IEP meetings
- helped students with their class schedules
- helped students think about their future and their goals
- attend and participated in staff meetings
- worked with Naviance, Infinate Campus, Excell, Word, PowerPoint, the Common Appilcation, and CollegeBoard
- set up and ran a business, management and marketing career fair
