Week 5- Finding My Place

The second week of school brings a sense of familiarity, but I am still finding my way, in many senses of the word. In the first week the schools have had time to identify children who have emotional or behavioral needs, so in the second week I was able to work with children and teachers for the first time. The caseload was slow- one school had only one child for me to work with so I spent a whole morning on his case- but it was productive. I am getting a feel for the population that I will be serving, but I will save that for a later week when I have more of an understanding of it (it is clear that I am not in suburbia anymore....). There are a lot of challenges, but I see the rewards and am excited about what is to come. I know that next week there are a lot more referrals coming and I will be very busy meeting new kids and seeing how I can made a difference.

As to the other aspect of finding my place... well, I was always told that school psychologists work anywhere. At my first school I was looking for a room to play a game with a kindergartener, and the counselor and I looked for the custodian. We first were going to use his office, but then realized there was an unused lounge/conference room two doors down from my student's classroom. It was the perfect solution, because it was bare and my child needed NO distractions! At a middle school I have twice needed private space. Once I have ended up in the library, which has been renovated and so boxes are being moved and unpacked. This week I was offered a teacher's lounge, which as it turns out is currently filled with about 5 classroom chairs, a student desk, and some cans of paint. It also has a faculty restroom, so as I am talking to students we can be interrupted at any time. May I someday soon have permanent spaces at my schools, partially so that my kids know where to find me, and partially so we can have some privacy!

Finally, I am still finding my place in Dallas, getting to know people and making friends. I am at the point where I sometimes feel that I am still on the outside peeking in when it comes to the social circles around me. It's hard being the new girl, and I've never been skilled at breaking in. I am trying to be myself, be proactive, and be patient. I am surrounded by good people.

It is a lovely three day weekend. Time to get off the couch and enjoy this reward for getting through a month of internship!