Personal Best Parent Update
Volume III Number 5 March 27, 2018
School Safety
In addition to physical safety there is the question of emotional safety. As we always have, we are paying attention to the social/emotional development and well-being of our students. We recently held class meetings around topics related to school safety and social emotional well-being. Class meetings are small groups of students who meet with a teacher periodically to do an activity together, an ice breaker, or just to discuss important themes. Teachers spoke to students about connecting with adults and about social isolation.
As you well know, adolescents are sometimes reluctant to go to adults when they have problems. Whether it’s because they wish to avoid the judgment of adults or because they lack the ability to verbalize the way they feel, adolescents tend to avoid adults. We know that it is critically important that our children understand that we are here for them if they are experiencing difficulties. We encourage our kids to talk to us both at school and at home. As part of the class meeting activity we surveyed students about the question of connectedness to adults. Kids answered “true/false” to the following prompts: If I had a personal problem, I would talk to an adult in the school building; If I had a personal problem, I would talk to my parents or an adult family member; When I have a personal problem, I do not have an adult to talk to. We did not collect any identifying information about individual students who took the survey. I will share with you the results once they are available. We hope to use this data to continually improve our school program, especially our ability to connect with and gain the trust of our students.
In this same class meeting session we talked to kids about social isolation and a program called, It Starts with Hello. This program was initiated by the organization, Sandyhook Promise. The program encourages students, when they see a classmate sitting alone or isolated in some manner, to approach them and make them feel more a part of the community. We have chosen this as the theme of our Bully Prevention Kick-off next year.
I’m so proud of our students for the sense of community that exists in our school. I welcome your feedback and ideas as we continue to do our personal best and create a strong culture for learning at JMS.
Personal Best Highlights
Naviance: Program for goal setting and learning
Naviance is a new program that will be rolled out in the middle school this spring. Students at the high school has been acquainted with the program as it is a an intrical part of the college application process. We are introducing it in the middle school because it offers opportunities for students to explore their learning styles, career interests and set goals for the future.
Diane Johnson, the curriculum associate for guidance, along with the middle school and high school guidance counselor‘s led a Brunch and Learn on the topic of Naviance. Here are the slides Diane used: http://bit.ly/2pobakO
Each of the middle school guidance counselors will work with students in their classes at some point in the spring to introduce the program to kids, create profiles, and have them interact with it and engage some of its features.
Spring break
Jericho Middle School
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: jerichoschools.org
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, USA
Phone: (516) 203-3600
Facebook: facebook.com/JerichoMS/
Twitter: @JerichoMS