Social Emotional Learning in APS
Newsletter #2, September 2019
Hello and welcome back to school! My name is Jen Cutler and I am the Director of K-12 School Counseling & Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for the Ashland Public School District. I will be sharing a bi-monthly newsletter focused on social emotional learning with the goal of providing all families with an understanding of how the district is implementing SEL and ways that you can integrate it in the home and community settings. In addition to the newsletters I have created a website with many resources that you can access and will be adding more information throughout the school year. Please visit and bookmark my new website here.
Contact Information
Email: jcutler@ashland.k12.ma.us
Phone: (508) 532-4015
Twitter: @JenniferCutler5
Website: https://sites.google.com/ashland.k12.ma.us/ashlandsel/
District-wide SEL Competency for September/October: Self-Awareness
Self-Awareness is the ability to recognize our own emotions, thoughts, and values, and how they influence behavior. It’s also the ability to accurately assess our strengths and limitations with a sense of confidence, optimism, and a growth mindset. Here are some ways to help facilitate self-awareness in your children.
- Take time to identify or talk about feelings each day
- Teach new words for feelings and tie them to experiences and facial expressions
- Use books or TV to point out more complex emotions
- Help your child recognize his/her strengths and abilities
- Talk about your own emotions and how certain situations make you feel as a parent