Practicum Log Pages

This page contains links to the practicum experiences of students pursuing the School Psychology minor. Read the summaries and click on the name links at the beginning of the summaries for more detailed information. This list is current up to the Fall of 2007. Starting then all practicum summaries were placed on the Psychology PLL (see link in left margin).

Summaries

AmandaHand – Therapeutic Preschool: late December 2005 to 2006: During her time there, she helped to get the children ready for kindergarten. She administered the Woodcock Johnson test and learned more about the process that involves deciding whether a student should be put into special education classes.

AmandaGranger I am doing the PSY 498D Practicum at Cleve-Hill Elementary School. My supervisor, who is the school counselor is Mrs. Brenda Wagner. Her email address is bwagner@clevehill.org, telephone # is 716 836-7200 ext 8202.

AndyKruszka – Frontier Central Schools: February to May 2006: He worked as a school psychologist intern; where he shadowed a school psychologist as he went through his normal routine. Observations and meetings were a couple of the experiences that he went through.

AneesaRoundtree – March to April 2004: She worked in a center that dealt with children whose ages ranged from 6 to 14. While there, she observed the children and helped out with the center’s daily activities especially during their workshops and guest speakers.

AnnieCoseo – Ripen With Us Child Care Center: This organization is a branch of Bornhava preschool in Amherst. While there she dealt with children who have a variety of mental difficulties and deficiencies. She worked in the inclusion classroom where she aided the teachers as the children went through their various daily activities.

AustralianInternship – Arthur Diestz did his internship in Nambour, Australia where he participated in a program called MAD which was based at a TAFE School there. During his time there he helped to run this program and became well acquainted with its purpose of helping male teens to discover what they want to do. These teens ages range from 14 to 17 year old males, and have dropped out of school or have been deemed as ‘unfit’ to be in school. Throughout his experience he gained valuable knowledge on how to approach students and aid them in their daily activities and experiences.

ChristinaMiller – Therapeutic Preschool: September to December 2005: While there she helped out with a class where all of the children had speech problems and a few had problems at home which were taken care of during her time there. Her time there consisted of mostly working during the morning session, although she did work during several of the afternoon sessions. The afternoon sessions were with the more advanced children who did not really have any problems at all. She mostly interacted with the children and helped the teacher out when it was needed.

DanielleBrown – Starpoint Central Schools in Lockport: January to May 2005: During her internship there she observed various meetings, classrooms, and students. She helped lead several social skills group sessions, administered DIBELs and K-BITs to students. In addition, she observed while the psychologist talked with several students about abuse at home.

DanielleChurpita – “The Connections Program”: early July to mid August 2005: Over the summer at her internship with “The Connections Program,” she worked with children who suffered from autism spectrum disorders and aspergers syndrome. She worked as a counselor for the program which was held at the Delevan Townhouses. Her and two other counselors were in charge of seven children in their group and held various activities and taught them social skills.
Bornhava: September 2005 to November 2005: Bornhava is an early intervention and preschool for children with developmental disabilities. She worked in a few classrooms and interacted with the children on a regular basis. She helped the teachers when necessary and reprimanded students on their behavior. During her time there she formed strong bonds with the children and influenced them greatly.

DianneEpling My School Psychology Practicum will be done over the summer at Camp Haccamo--A Place Where Smiles Grow. Camp Haccamo is a overnight camp for children with special needs ranging from 7 to 28 years of age in Penfield, NY. I am a Senior Counselor here and am responsible for the saftey and direct care of groups of 10-12 campers. The camp consists of seven week-long overnight sessions. The campers can only come to one session so every week we get brand new campers. This page will be dedicated to recording my experiences with the children over the summer.

DominiqueCellini – Compeer: started on May 2005: While she volunteered there, she chose to be a mentor to a female teenager who had an unstable family background; her mother was in jail and would be getting out in a few months and her father was very irresponsible. The girl was currently under her grandmother’s custody. During her time spent with the teenager, she encouraged in her positive self-image, concepts, and a positive social attitude.

EmilyKrezmienSchoolPsychologyPracticum – Lancaster Central High School: September 2006 to January 2007: During her internship there she has observed students in their classroom settings for the school psychologist, Dr. Topper. She put together an assessment tool for the teachers to fill out about the specific students, and performed individual assessments. On certain days she was either located at the high school, middle school, and recently, the elementary school.

FaithMikalonis – Children’s Therapeutic Preschool: February 2004 to May 2004: For the duration of her time there she assisted the teachers and assistants in the classroom as they went through their daily activities. She was present during the scheduled Hurts group sessions in which the students sit down and talk about various topics. In addition, she formed friendly bonds with several of the students.

JaclynOstroski – Buffalo Public School System: January 2007 to present: She is working with a district-wide school psychologist. So far she has been informed of how CSE teams work and has attended a CSE meeting for a student. She has been informed that they will be working with special needs students attending to their educational needs.

JillianSilvashy – Bornhava Preschool: May 2006 to June 2006: During her time there she worked with children between the ages of 4-5 who had a variety of learning disabilities and complications. She aided the teachers and assistants throughout the day and interacted with the students. During her time there she gained skills pertaining to dealing with/handling children with special needs.

JoanneSadowski – Robert Warner Rehab Center through Women and Children’s Hospital: Over the summer and last spring she worked in the Therapeutic Preschool classroom as a teacher aide. She is currently doing her internship there under the school psychologist. So far during her time there she has sat in on interviews with the parents and children to determine whether they are right for the program or not.

KethumH – CurriMundi Special Education School: She fulfilled her practicum abroad. While there she observed several classrooms and helped the teachers with the students. During her time there she was confronted with autism, Klinfelters, Down syndrome, and other disorders. She attended meetings and learned a lot about how to effectively interact with children who have these ailments. Overall she forged strong ties with the children and increased her knowledge of working with students who suffer from various disorders.

KristenEhrhardt - Lackawanna School District

KristinVescio – Bornhava: During her time there she worked in the classroom aiding the teachers. She interacted with the children and helped them to learn various things. In addition, she grew attached to the children due to the friendly atmosphere which Bornhava maintains throughout the year. She strongly recommends to anyone to put in hours at Bornhava.

LauraDutton – Alternative Learning Center in the West Seneca school district: Over the course of her time there she shadowed a school psychologist. She observed several classrooms in the school district, ranging from high school to the elementary. In addition, she attended meetings and helped the psychologist search for links to sites to put on the webpage the ALC was developing for the school district. Furthermore, she helped minister a few tests under the guidance of the school psychologist.

LizHastie – Students Against Violence Education (S.A.V.E.): S.A.V.E. is a program which targets students K-8 in which they have small or large assemblies that focus on bullying, consequences, peer pressure, reporting, and coping strategies; all of which are important elements of the violence prevention framework. During her internship she was in charge of booking ten assemblies for the fall and spring semesters at the local schools. After booking these assemblies she was placed on the team with two others who would be doing these assemblies. This experience showed her that non-for-profit organizations are difficult to maintain and has provided her with insight as how to approach these topics with children of varying ages.


MaryWolf – Elementary School in Elmira, NY: She worked at a summer school program assisting autistic children ages 6-8. She worked with the special education teacher to ensure that things ran smoothly throughout the day. Through her internship at the school, she learned how to effectively handle and form good relationships with autistic children.

MeganSchoos – S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence Education): Fall 2006: During her time there she scheduled assemblies at several schools, observed the assemblies, and helped with the planning for a fundraiser. In addition she attended various board member meetings. From this experience, she gained valuable skills and lessons that she can use later on in life.

MelissaClingersmith – Niagara Falls City School District: September 2006 to November 2006: She shadowed a school psychologist as she went through her daily schedule. Through the duration of her time, she helped administer DIBELs tests and became involved in a reading intervention program there.

MichelleCarver – The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care: January to April 2004: She helped mentor a 10-year-old girl whose family was going through a rough time. From the training sessions she learned how to approach certain topics with people, when to talk about things and what to do in certain situations. From her experience she gained a lot of knowledge on a wide array of topics, and formed a friendship with the girl and her family.

MonicaHelinski – Children’s Therapeutic Preschool: January to April 2004: During her time there she helped the instructors as they went through their daily routine. She administered the WJ-R test for cognitive ability. In addition, she formed friendships with her peers and with the children. Overall it was a good experience.

NicholasLongo – Celebrate The Children: July 2005: It is a camp designed to help children with learning disabilities ages 3-16. He worked there as an aide to the teachers; he was trained in how to use Dr. Greenspan’s model of learning (DIR), and was required to fill out data sheets after every day for each of the children to report on their progress in meeting their goals for the camp. When the camp ended he found it difficult to say goodbye to the children who he had formed close relationships with.

NoelleCarter – Bornhava: September to December 2005: While there she worked with children ages 3-4 in a small classroom. She attended to two separate classrooms on certain days and helped out the teachers with anything that they needed.

PamelaDunn – Compass House – Joan Dutchess Friedson: December 2004 to March 2005: The House is a place where people can go in times of need for a place to stay. During her time there she helped the residents with various things, and performed/assigned minor chores around the house. Most of the clients were teenagers around 14 or so. In addition, she attended intern and volunteer meetings.

PerryC - Women's and Children's Hospital Early Childhood Program and Therapeutic Preschool: September 2005 to March 2006: His internship there consisted of being on a team responsible for interviewing and assessing infants and preschoolers; he was allowed to help with educational, speech, psychological and social evaluations on site. Off site he was able to observe the children in their daycare or school setting. Weekly he would attend meetings to discuss the results of the testing and observations to determine whether the child needed services.

RachelMonkelbaan – Lancaster Central School: September 2005 to May 2006: She worked with the school psychologist there; he observed special learning rooms, and normal classrooms. She also attended several meetings where certain students were discussed. In addition, she helped the psychologist finish up her triennials and tested a few of the students.

RebeccaNietopski – Summit Educational Resources: December 2004 to January 2005: During her internship there she worked in several pre-school classrooms which were integrated. She observed the students, interacted with them and helped with data collection concerning their specific goals and objectives which they needed to fulfill. In addition she sat in on a few meetings and entered data information into the students’ individual books.

SarahHeist – Therapeutic Preschool: January to May: She worked in several classrooms observing the students and interacting with them. Generally she helped the teachers with their daily classroom activities and cultivated friendships with several of the students.

StaceySowinski – Gateway-Longview: September 2006 to December 2006: At Gateway-Longview, she worked in the foster care department. Over the course of her internship she attended several family court proceedings, worked with all of the staff and all of the cases, and was a part of the therapeutic preschool which was moved into the building. She sat in on several meetings, helped out with paperwork and various documents, and sat in as a third party reviewer for a service plan review. In addition, she helped the department with sending out Christmas Angels to the local companies. At the end of her internship she received a job as a Direct Care Worker with Vendor Services for Gateway.

StephanieUrbino – Lafayette High School: November 2004 to February 2005: While working in the guidance office she mentored and tutored students, observed several classrooms, sat in on student evaluations, and she was present during meetings with the seniors and guidance counselors. She interacted with students who were pregnant, failing various subjects, or who were just there for an assigned meeting with the guidance counselor.

TawanaWiggins – CleveHill Elementary School: September 2006 to November 2006: She worked under the school counselor there, Mrs. Wagner. She was present during many meetings that the counselor had with several students who were having problems either in school or at home. In addition, she was part of the ‘banana splits’ program held at the school for children of divorced families. She learned how to file CPS reports and helped with looking over and meeting with students concerning their behavior incentive charts.

ThomasWheeler – Buffalo Prep program: July to August: He volunteered there and helped tutor the children who are involved in the program. In addition, he helped to prepare them for fall evaluations to determine whether they would still be involved in the program or not.

ZahraShairi – Monarch Little Learners Academy: March to May: During her internship there she worked as a teacher’s aide who assists with the special needs students. The ages of the children who she oversaw ranged from 20 months to 3 years. In addition she attended parent-child groups which were held after the class she helped out with was over. During these group sessions she interacted and aided the children with anything that they may have needed at the time. From her internship she was even more determined to become a school psychologist but was also intrigued with the idea of becoming a speech therapist as well.