Second month of blogging

This blog has been "live" for two months, and there is already growth:

The second month saw 2000 page views (up from 1,395 during the first month).
That's an average of 66.7 page views each day. (up from 46.5).
Our international outreach continues to expand beyond our borders to Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, India, Russia, France, Thailand, Australia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Israel, Hungary, Indonesia, and the Ukraine.

Actually, one blog post seems to have gone somewhat viral in Sweden: the This Too Shall Pass post seems to be quite popular over there.

Aside from that, the most-seen post was about National School Counseling Week, most likely due to school counselors looking for ideas to celebrate school counseling.

The most popular page is still the About/Contact page.

Word must be spreading. College counselors and admissions counselors are commenting about the blog's resources, which is great news. Even more important is that students are using it. A parent at the college fair really appreciated the information that is available here. So, please, post the link on your Facebook and twitter accounts. Is it possible to share URL's on instagram? Spread the word about the resources that are available from your school counseling department.

Even better than perusing resources is coming in to talk and listen to your school counselor. Let us get to know you and get to know us, as well. The more we understand your values, priorities, and goals, the better services we can provide for you.

Possible snow days aside, we are heading into one of the longest stretches of the school year, with President's Day as the only planned day off of school between the beginning of the third quarter and spring break. Make sure you pace yourself, get plenty of rest, do your best work (nothing less, nothing more), and try and take a break on weekends. Limit your exposure to unhealthy and toxic relationships. Make otherwise responsible choices, and use your resources early and often. Remember that you are not alone.

The school counselors' schedules are booked pretty solid, with devoting 10 minutes each to 18 students per day between now and March 1 to discuss next year's course requests with students in grades 9-11. Seniors should be spending this time completing their FAFSA and applying for scholarships. Remember that the local scholarships are due March 4 and the AP exam registration fees and forms are due March 1.

Even though course requests were due on February 8 and we are meeting with students through March 1, please know that we will allow students to change their minds about their 2013-14 course requests as often as they need until June. Once school is dismissed for summer, students will not have the opportunity to change their 2013-14 courses and/or levels. Please take great care in selecting your classes for next year.