When I first began pursuing an education to become a School Counselor, I imagined helping students apply for college, explore career paths, and talk about feelings. Although I didn't have a fantastic connection with my own school counselors growing up, I felt a drive to help the next generation access a positive and successful life after high school. In the eight years of my career, however, I have developed an even deeper devotion to student success, and that is through Social-Emotional Learning and Character Education. In some of my earlier jobs, working with someone who demonstrated responsibility, or someone who practiced fairness and kindness, made for an incredibly valuable, fun, and productive workday. On the other hand, a shift with a colleague who practiced none of the above was pretty dreadful. Healthy relationships are also rooted in character and social and emotional awareness. Developing our students' understanding of what it is to be trustworthy and respectful as well as learning how to regulate emotions helps them use skills for meaningful and caring friendships, develop work ethic, and foster a drive to contribute to their communities.
As we are wrapping up our first full week of school, Bonneville dives into September's character trait of Responsibility. We are defining Responsibility as doing what you are supposed to do, planning ahead, using self-control, being accountable for ourselves, and setting a good example for others. At Bonneville, students are practicing Responsibility by cleaning up after themselves, arriving to school on time, doing their best in their classroom roles, and so on. I encourage you to continue the conversation at home around the meaning of Responsibility. Your student may have household chores or duties, have a role on a team or in a club, or be responsible for making sure they brush their teeth every night before bed. Responsibilities can also change over time. Discuss what they used to be responsible for and how that looks different today or how it might be different in a year. We will continue our Character Education at Bonneville throughout the year with each month having its own theme. Character traits are discussed over morning announcements, praised in classrooms and common spaces, and interwoven into core content. I am so grateful to work at a school that values the whole person. We understand that our students are much more than their academics. We believe that every student brings something positive to our school community. Embracing character education has allowed me to see our students for more than their college or job prospects but as humans who are going to make a tremendous difference in our collective future.
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This year, the Salt Lake City School District has initiated the first phase of our new Social and Emotional Learning standards: Welcoming Rituals and Routines. Essentially, every classroom has developed and is implementing a consistent, fun, and inviting way to welcome students to the classroom every day. It was invigorating visiting different classes and grades to witness their morning rituals and a fantastic way to learn more about our teachers at Bonneville. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), having routine and welcoming rituals establishes safety and predictability for our students in our classrooms. Not only are teachers building relationships during this time but they are also coaching students on exciting, thoughtful and sometimes silly ways to greet others. Teachers are also able to check-in with students, recognizing that some may be walking into school that day with emotional baggage or difficulties that ultimately affect their readiness or ability to learn. Below, I've shared some fun pictures of Welcoming Rituals and Routines. Students in Mrs. Sellin's kindergarten class practice writing their names at the start of every day. Students in Mrs. Okabe's 1st grade class use unique and individualized gestures to say hello in the morning. (From left to right) Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Taylor-Lof greet their 4th graders with a wave, fist bump, handshake, or hug, per the student's choice. Mr. Little welcomes students everyday at the door with kind words and binder checks. Go Bobcats!
September brings us the start of our Bully Prevention program! As I get acquainted with the Bonneville community, I am in awe of the resources our families bring to the school and provide for our students. I feel fortunate to be supported in the effort to improve social and emotional skills in our students by our parent-initiated Project Cornerstone. Thanks to a team of parents and the many volunteers who have fostered Project Cornerstone, we have a full-year Bully Prevention and Character Education curriculum at Bonneville already in place! Additionally, since I am now full-time, I am eager to bring a variety of programs and teaching topics to fuse with our already in place Project Cornerstone. As of now, I will be supporting Project Cornerstone in every classroom every month throughout the year. I will also be visiting classrooms with my own curriculum to introduce the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) standards the Salt Lake City School District has planned to implement for the 2020-2021 school year.
Although Project Cornerstone will not start until October, I will be visiting classrooms to introduce the bully prevention program and review students' rights under the district Anti-Harassment G-19 Policy and the Anti-Bullying G-20 Policy this month. Obviously these introductions will look different among the grade levels but all students will receive a copy of these district policies to take home as mandated by the Board. One thing I want to emphasize that seems to have been accidentally communicated is that I will not be implementing an explicit suicide prevention program at Bonneville. This is something only mandated in secondary schools. You can find copies of the policies below. To learn more about Social-Emotional Learning and the Collaborative of Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), visit this website: casel.org/. You can also watch an overview of CASEL and get more information on SEL for parents in the videos below. Please also visit our school's PTA website to learn more about Project Cornerstone: https://www.bonnevillepta.org/project-cornerstone Stay tuned to this blog for updates throughout the month regarding lessons and the counseling department at Bonneville!
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