While it may be just a normal day in the Carver Center Counseling Office, this past Monday, February 7, kicked off the start of National School Counseling Week. Anyone who has stopped by the Office in the past week has probably seen the multi-colored hearts adorning its windows. Each pane has since been labeled with a different counselor’s name and filled with blank paper hearts of the same color for students to leave kind messages on. 

Today, when I stopped by to get a closer look, I found the door propped wide open; a rare sight for the Carver Center Counseling Office. The office itself sat in perfect silence and each counselor’s door had been pushed shut so that the many pictures and artworks that covered them from students― both past and present ―were visible. Ms. Braxton stood behind her own Senior-portrait-decorated desk dutifully shuffling those same hearts into a neat pile. Once empty, now every one of the hearts was filled with notes from Carver Center students.

As the end of National School Counseling Week is quickly approaching, Ms. Braxton revealed that the hearts had been her idea to help students let Ms. Petit, Mr. Palmer, Ms. Kousouris, and Ms. Aguilar know that they are appreciated. She plans to place each counselor’s hearts in a special scrapbook for them so that they can cherish their students’ messages forever. Carver’s Center counselor’s work over time making schedules, planning events, helping seniors with the college application process, and being a support system for the student population. Without their hard work, Carver Center would not be able to function the way it does today. 

If you missed the opportunity to leave your counselor a message this past week, it is never too late to stop by and let them know how much they mean to you. School counselors deserve to feel appreciated all 365 days of the year.