Google's Good to Know Site

As I am catching up reading blogs that I follow over the 3-day weekend (had about 400 blog posts to read...so I was a little behind!), I came across a blog about Google's Good to Know site and how it is very helpful with tips and information about being safe online. Everything from how to search more safely and more appropriately to actually seeing what data companies like Google actually get from your online experiences. I played around with this site some and found it to be somewhat helpful. Feel free to explore it some more and if you learn something or your child learns something....great!

Google's Good to Know click here!

Don't Always Believe What You Hear: The Power of Negative....and Positive Words

I know, I know...reality shows like American Idol, Biggest Loser, and X-Factor always try to find the feel-good stories, but this one truly is a good story. As a counselor, I am drawn to the words this lady speaks at the beginning. She didn't follow her passion and dreams because someone she loved and respected told her she wasn't good enough. When she finally stopped listening to him and listened to her heart (and hopefully other close friends), she decided to give her dream one more shot. And it wasn't easy, but finally, we get to see her one shot. And she doesn't disappoint. Watch the video below. It is 8 minutes of your day that could change you. In fact I hope it changes us all. This week, don't say negative things to others....be a dream producer. Be the person who got this lady on stage. Change someone's life.

Small Things Can Make a Big Difference!

Have to thank Larry Ferlazzo and his Websites of the Day for a quick blog he made with this comic strip. He made a great point: You never know what might make a difference in a teenager's daily life, but it could be pretty small. So....as parents, teachers, friends, loved ones, we need to keep doing the little things that might make someone's bad day become a slightly better one.

More Partnership for a Drug Free America links

I just went through about 75 blog entries from the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Here are 3 that stood out to me. Please read during some down time this week and possibly even discuss with your family. Thanks!

Click here to read about Prescription Drug names and information. Your kids may be taking prescription drugs without you knowing about it. They may be attending "Pharm parties" where they share their pills with other kids and take theirs. They may be stealing your prescription drugs. Or maybe they are not...but they know someone who is. Either way, the link within this blog post has some great information.

Click here to read about Marijuana causes driver impairment and accidents. Duh. I know. But many kids don't actually believe that marijuana causes impairment and is not "bad" like alcohol or other drugs are. Well, read this recent study and you will see it is just as bad.

Click here to learn how your School Counselor can be Your First Contact When You Think Your Child Might be Using Drugs. I really hope I can help in any way possible. When anyone has a problem, especially a young person, it takes a committed and supportive group of people to help the person through issues like drugs and drug addictions. Please, contact me if you need help.

CommonSenseMedia.Org....Still One of the Best Sites for Families Out There!

I can't tell you how much I love this site and how cool it is for a Dad (and teacher/counselor) like me! I originally found this site and used it just as a site to review movies and TV shows before my kids watched them. As a counselor, I am always amazed at what my middle school students tell me they watch. Sure the R rated movies surprise me, but sometimes PG-13 or TV shows can be pretty bad too. Well, this site breaks every TV show and movie down in multiple categories so you can see just what is so bad or so good about that particular entertainment choice. They even give you a suggested age where this show or movie would be appropriate. And it is not just expert opinions, it combines parent and children opinions too. This is a site that the whole family could visit and discuss before planning what movie to see or what show to watch. I have placed a few examples below of some good and bad shows that students have told me they have seen recently. But please, check out this site and bookmark it.....it is truly an amazing site!

(Oh, I forgot....for every show, if you decide to let your kids watch it, the site gives you talking points on even the bad things the show has. How cool is that?! Now you can discuss things about the show with your children and have a built in cheat sheet on what to ask and talk about!)

Jersey Shore: Guess what? Not a good show and now scientifically proven. No role model or positive messages to be found.

Up All Night: A new favorite show for my wife and I. My kids are too young, but this site actually says this show has some good qualities in comparison to most other shows. Interesting!

Spongebob: Not much for good qualities and even "iffy" for 6 year olds. For middle schoolers, it is probably fine, but if you have little ones, you might want to read up.

Thor: Pretty typical superhero movie. You might think these movies are great for kids and in many cases they are pretty good, but reading about it on a site like this might make you more prepared for talking with your child/teen when before or after they see the movie.

Saw: As we approach Halloween, some kids may want to rent and watch the original "Saw" movie or some of the sequels. This makes my skin crawl. As you can see from the research, this movie doesn't even have a suggested age as the movie is deemed not suitable for any age kid. Yet, I bet nearly 50% of my students have seen it!

The Hangover: This one still baffles me. So many middle school students ask me if I have seen it and want to know what I think. Then they tell me they loved it and have seen it many times. I watched it after it was on DVD and I kept thinking "My students watched this??" Anyway, here is the review.

These are just a few examples but you can really see the detail put into each review and study. Next time you are questioning if a movie or TV show is suitable for your child or family, give this site a try.

Students "Want to Talk to Their School Counselor" About Bullying.

You have to wait for this line until almost the end of the video, but that is a great quote at the end of this video about solutions to combat bullying. The Iowa Youth Survey shows we do have bullying at the 6th, 8th, and 11th grade levels, but our stats are lower than the state averages, so something is going right. However, my goal and our school's goals is still to have 0% of students reporting that they feel bullied. A daunting goal and possibly not achievable, but we keep trying and talking to students in hopes that we will someday get there. Here is a great little video clip about some possible solutions, but again, I love the end of the video! So true!!

Lots of Student Groups Available at Carlisle Middle School!

If your child is looking to get involved in a group at Carlisle Middle School, I hope they have explained to you the many options they now have. Feeling connected to your school by getting involved can really enhance the school experience. Not to mention that are history shows that students who get connected in an extra curricular activity tend to have much better attendance and better grades in school! So....students should try to get involved in at least one activity. If you are not sure what activities, we offer, here you go....

Sports for grades 7 and 8: Currently football, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading are going on. Soon basketball for boys and girls will start up along with wrestling. Then, we finish the year with baseball, softball, and track. Wow! And if that isn't enough, CYA offers similar sports as well as soccer in the fall and spring.

Chess Club: This group starts up this week with their first meeting after school on Wednesday. Wednesday will likely be their regular meeting day.

Art Club: This group has already started and they are meeting on Tuesdays. This is a great group for any student that has interest in Art.

Conservation Club: This group meets on Thursdays after school and they do lots of landscaping, research on nature, and beautification projects. They also are active with plantings in the spring.

Jazz Band: These groups are now up and running with different groups of Jazz band students meeting almost every morning each week.

Yearbook: This group has formed, but has not yet had their first meeting. They will start meeting here in a few weeks and will meet off and on throughout the year on Thursday mornings. When it is all said and done, they will have produced our school yearbook!

Student Council: Students applied for this and have already had several meetings and even a bake sale. Next, they will help put on our school social. They stay pretty active and meet on Tuesdays either before school or after school, whichever students can make. However, they do not meet every Tuesday though.

STAND (Students Taking Action, Not Drugs): This group will meet on Tuesday afternoons on days when the Student Council meets. Students can be in both groups or just one. This group is the new version of our our JEL/SADD group and this group will be attempting to educate our students on the dangers and evils of drugs and alcohol.

Whew....that is a lot of groups! I might have even missed one or two and it wouldn't surprise me if more groups form during the year. Bottom line is that students should get involved and their are lots of ways they can get involved. No excuse not to!!

Facebook Predator is a Good Reminder to All Students to be Safe Online

If you don't know the story, click on this KCCI link to watch the video story. This story was forwarded around Central Iowa this past week and I think I received it about 4 times. And it is an important story even if it has not affected Carlisle....yet. The important part is that this is a great reminder how young people need to be smart and safe when online. When we decided to get the 8th graders up and blogging, I was hoping this would constantly give me chances to talk to the kids about their online behavior and online life. What they should post, not post, how they should post, where they should post, and who might be looking at the things they are doing. Would you believe that most 8th graders have a Facebook and most of their Facebook walls are visible to the public? Yep, it's true! And many 8th graders have admitted to accepting a friend invite on Facebook of someone they did not know, but they thought they knew that person or a friend of theirs was a friend of this person, so why not accept? Technology is fun and social networks are some of the most fun parts of technology, but they are not risk-free. Predators of children and other adults who have not-so-nice motives are USUALLY smarter than our students and almost always smarter than me! We can't just assume we are bullet proof and the bad things that happen won't happen to us. We must protect ourselves in at least some very simple ways. Here is some of my quick advice regarding Facebook

1. Make your wall, photos, and information only visible to friends. No reason to have your information public.

2. Limit the amount of personal information you post. This includes pictures. I purposely do not post many pictures of my kids on Facebook. I would love for people to see my kids, but I don't want my kids' photos all over the Internet.

3. You don't have to accept every friend invite. If you are their TRUE FRIEND in life, accept them. Even if you just know of them, don't accept it. If you are getting up to 200, 300, 400 or more friends (and most middle school kids are), you are friending too much!

4. Think before you post....every time! Think about what your post may mean to others, how it will affect others, and who will see it. We talk about this with our blogs, but we could talk about it everyday if we wanted to. Also, never post when emotional...and teens can be emotional often. Take a break and relax before putting your feelings online. Or better yet, talk to someone about your feelings and do not post them to hundreds.

5. Report, print, and record. If you feel uncomfortable by anything online or something doesn't feel right, print the screen immediately. Smart predators (and bullies) will remove their post once they are sure it has done its job. Write information down. Report what happened to an adult and delete the person from your friend list if possible.

Here are some great Facebook and online safety sources:

Great Guide to Facebook for parents!

SafeKids tips!

CommonSense Media.org article (one of my favorite websites by the way!)

If you have any questions, please contact me or any school counselor.

Winter Clothing Giveaway!! Now October 24th!!!

If you are a middle school parent or guardian and wondering if you have enough warm clothes for your middle schooler this winter and wondering how you would even pay for it if you don't have those clothes, we want to help. We have been collecting and gathering warm clothes (hats, gloves, coats, sweatshirts, pants, etc) for a couple years and we still don't have much, but we feel we have enough to give to others. And we want to do just that. A tentative date has been set (October 24th) and on that date from 4 to 6 p.m., we will have the clothes set out in the Life Skills room for the taking. We ask that those who come to see what we have to offer are families who are in need and simply can't balance all of the bills a cold winter might bring. We can't guarantee you much, but we are hopeful that those who come can find a few items to take home and that getting those items for free might ease the family budget this year. Please contact Kim Flagor Fuller or Ben Barry for more details. And check back soon to see if our date is more firmly set!

When: October 24th, 4-6 p.m.

Where: Middle School Life Skills Room

Why: To help any family who might need extra warm clothes this winter season.

Personality Tests!

Our 6th graders will be doing some online personality tests and learn more about their own strengths and weaknesses. My one big disclaimer is that these tests are not perfectly accurate and when it comes to a matching career, that career may not be the best fit for them....and that is okay! These tests are only versions of a much more reliable psychological test and are therefore not as accurate. Either way, we can get some good data and good information about ourselves by taking these tests. For instance, when I took one of the tests it said I would make a great teacher and/or counselor! Well, I may not be great, but I do feel like I am in the job that matches my personality and that is good! Anyway, here are the links for the tests the students are taking.

Test #1: Personality Test by Human Metrics

This test will give you a 4 letter code and students can have one of many different codes. Students can learn more about their code by clicking on some of the links. This is where I learned that I should be a teacher or counselor (but I already knew this). They can also see what famous people might share the same code. The questions are tough and maybe a bit above 6th graders vocabulary level, but they should get an accurate answer if they answer at least 50 questions.

Test #2: RIASEC Test

The RIASEC Test is probably one of the most common personality to career match tests out there. Again, this is just a short sample version and results should be taken with a grain of salt, but students really do tend to find the results guide them towards careers they were already thinking about. I tell students to do the "15 question" version, but they could do the 30 question version to get even more accurate results.

FREE Dinner and FREE show at Carlisle Middle School on November 1st. (Did you see it said "FREE"!!)

A great FREE opportunity is coming up. The National Theatre for Children is coming to Carlisle Middle School on November 1st for 2 shows. First, they will perform for our entire 7th grade in the afternoon. Next, they will stick around to put on a show for the entire community after a FREE dinner that night. So, what is their show about? Well, their show is titled "Mad About Money II" and teaches financially literacy to young people. But guess what? Adults can learn from this presentation too and that is why we are hoping the entire family comes to the night dinner and show on November 1st. Lots of information about this event will be posted around the community and sent home with students, so keep an eye out for more information. For now, please see the following information and make sure to RSVP soon!

Who: National Theatre for Children performance for Parents, families, and students

What: A free, fun, family-friendly theatre performance. Dinner provided for everyone thanks to the Iowa Insurance Division

Where: Carlise Middle School

When: Tuesday November 1st at 6:00 p.m.

Why: To teach the importance of financial literacy through a fun experience.

Please RSVP to ben.barry@carlisle.k12.ia.us . Please note how many in your family will be enjoying the free dinner and show. Also, if you are need of child care during the show (show will last 45 minutes MAX), please note that in your RSVP as well. Childcare activities will be provided free of charge as well.

You can also visit the National Theatre for Children website to learn more. Click here!!

Our 8th Graders Are Blogging UPDATE! You Can Now Follow Your Child's Blog

Yes, parents and guardians, I now have a very simple way for you to follow your child's blog. Some of the kids have been blogging every day and some of the kids are doing just what I assign them to do. And sadly, a few are not blogging yet. But with the end of the quarter very near, I am positive they will get blogging this week as their grade depends on it! :) So, how do you follow your child's blog? Simple. Follow these quick and easy steps:

1. Go to Mr. Barry's Edublogsite by clicking here! (site address is mrbarrycounselor.edublogs.org in case link doesn't work). Mr. Barry does not blog much on this site, but it is important for you to find your child's site.

2. Look on the left hand side of his blog site.

3. Find your child's name and click on it.

4. What pops up should be your child's blog.

5. Read and Enjoy! And as you read, please discuss the same things I do such as knowing what is appropriate to post and not post, knowing how to type and communicate professionally by using proper grammar, capitals, and punctuation, and keeping up with the assignments. You might even talk about how you work and represent yourself online through emails, social networks, blogs, forums, etc.

Thank you!