Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is important in increasing emotional awareness and being emotionally aware is a key aspect of conflict resolution. Conflicts will arise in any relationship because we cannot always agree all the time. However, there are healthy ways to resolve conflict. When conflicts are not managed appropriately, harm can be caused to a relationship, but have no fear, we would like to share tools to resolve conflict in a positive way:

• Step back from the problem to give yourself a space to calm down. You can remove yourself from the conflict by walking away or stepping aside.
• When you are ready, listen to what the other person has to say without interruption. Ask for help to do this if you are not able to do it on your own.
• Be accountable for your actions and what you did to contribute to the disagreement.
• Talk together about potential solutions.
• Choose a solution together that moves you both beyond being stuck on blaming and shaming the other person.
• Apologize with sincerity for your part in what happened. Yes, you played a part in it too.
• Accept the other person's apology. You don't have to agree with what happened, but you can accept their apology.
• Move forward with positivity. You don't have to be friends, but you can be in the same space with them without arguing, name calling, negative comments or eye rolling. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Yes, successfully resolving conflict can be challenging but you can do it! We believe in you!

Healthy conflict resolution strategies matter to kids in school. Emotional regulation and self-awareness is a requirement of SEL. But this kind of self- management is also necessary to control impulses that often directly cause an act of aggression towards another. Learning how to handle conflicts effectively is a fundamental part of any social-emotional learning curriculum.

For the month of February our AVID strategy will be Quickwrites. Quickwrites are quick summarizations of a book, article, conversation, or word problem that the scholars have been introduced to. Scholars have an opportunity to access prior knowledge and discover what they already know. It allows them to express their thoughts in one or two sentences. We were really impressed with the One Pagers that were submitted for last month’s strategy by our scholars. This month we will be celebrating our scholars progress with AVID All Stars. This will be held on Friday, February 17th. Please remember to send in $1.00 as the scholars will be allowed to wear hats representing Black History Month colors on February 17th as well. The funds will go towards AVID initiatives here at Sims. We also will be conducting our AVID Binder Checks on the week of February 13th. Parents/Guardians please make sure that the scholars have all of the materials needed in their binders (Spirals, Agenda, and Pencil Pouch). We will also be engaged in AVID Walkthroughs as we look for AVID strategies being implemented with fidelity in your scholars' classrooms. AVID continues to rock here at Sims! Parents/Guardians thank you for continued support of our school as we continue to seek for Advancement Via Individual Determination.

Greetings families!! PBIS is an evidence-based, tiered framework used to promote a positive learning environment throughout our entire building. We thrive on building relationships in a safe environment through teaching and modeling our essential agreements. At Sims we are Kind-Hearted Scholarly Leaders who Problem Solve.

Please click here for our current PBIS Updates!