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SEL Champions Did you know we have an Elementary SEL Champion team?! This is comprised of 4 key representatives at each of your buildings!
Our team met at the end of the summer to discuss long term planning and goals for our work together this year! | Dr. Dena Simmons For those of you who were able to join, the district brought in an amazing guest speaker last week to break down misconceptions of SEL and how to organically teach it through EVERYTHING that we do while affirming students' identities! This was a powerful Q/A session that encouraged us to reflect on our own mindsets about compliance and control over students. | "Mic" Drop Mrs. Williams, first grade teacher at AV is actually passing a full blown microphone in her classroom here! How cool do you feel when you get to talk into a microphone right?! Not only does this increase active listening but provides opportunities for leadership when students are speaking! |
SEL Champions
Did you know we have an Elementary SEL Champion team?! This is comprised of 4 key representatives at each of your buildings!
- Behaviorist
- Social Worker
- Classroom teacher
- Alternative Ed. teacher
Our team met at the end of the summer to discuss long term planning and goals for our work together this year!
Dr. Dena Simmons
For those of you who were able to join, the district brought in an amazing guest speaker last week to break down misconceptions of SEL and how to organically teach it through EVERYTHING that we do while affirming students' identities! This was a powerful Q/A session that encouraged us to reflect on our own mindsets about compliance and control over students.
"Mic" Drop
Mrs. Williams, first grade teacher at AV is actually passing a full blown microphone in her classroom here! How cool do you feel when you get to talk into a microphone right?! Not only does this increase active listening but provides opportunities for leadership when students are speaking!
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Our Class Family I loved how you didn't waste ANY time to start establishing essential agreements for your class families to will be safe, respectful and responsible! This second grade classroom shared common goals and students signed their names inside the classroom "home." | Community Building Mrs. Mastain's second graders at WE built community during morning meeting by passing a ball of yarn and they greeted one another to show a visible connection each student has to the classroom community as a whole! | Bucket Fillers Second graders in Mrs. McAllister's class at SM learned about what it means to fill someone else's bucket. Mrs. McAllister has a ritual where students complete "bucket filling slips" when someone else does something kind for them. She then reads these at the end of each day and the bucket filler gets to take it home. This is a wonderful way to highlight the GOOD in our students! |
Our Class Family
I loved how you didn't waste ANY time to start establishing essential agreements for your class families to will be safe, respectful and responsible! This second grade classroom shared common goals and students signed their names inside the classroom "home."
Community Building
Mrs. Mastain's second graders at WE built community during morning meeting by passing a ball of yarn and they greeted one another to show a visible connection each student has to the classroom community as a whole!
Bucket Fillers
Second graders in Mrs. McAllister's class at SM learned about what it means to fill someone else's bucket. Mrs. McAllister has a ritual where students complete "bucket filling slips" when someone else does something kind for them. She then reads these at the end of each day and the bucket filler gets to take it home. This is a wonderful way to highlight the GOOD in our students!
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School Wide Expectations MANY of our schools have spent these first two days sharing school wide expectations with students! Special area teachers often support leading these with grade levels so students can hear consistent language as a group. Mr. Harris at CW guides students through the car line process to ensure all students are SAFE during arrival and dismissal! | IA Support At CW during school wide expectations-teachers attend these discussions WITH their students during their regular specials time. This allows the students to see that both teachers and support staff are on the same page! Then IA's and the school social worker provide coverage for the classroom teachers so they can still have a prep. This also allows these staff members to start building connections with students. | Cub Quest Nora follows a similar structure for teaching school wide expectations and due to construction they toured new special area spaces like the "little library on the stage" and shared that art, technology and music will in their classrooms! This creates space for kids to ask questions and build predictability during times of change and uncertainty! |
School Wide Expectations
MANY of our schools have spent these first two days sharing school wide expectations with students! Special area teachers often support leading these with grade levels so students can hear consistent language as a group. Mr. Harris at CW guides students through the car line process to ensure all students are SAFE during arrival and dismissal!
IA Support
At CW during school wide expectations-teachers attend these discussions WITH their students during their regular specials time. This allows the students to see that both teachers and support staff are on the same page! Then IA's and the school social worker provide coverage for the classroom teachers so they can still have a prep. This also allows these staff members to start building connections with students.
Cub Quest
Nora follows a similar structure for teaching school wide expectations and due to construction they toured new special area spaces like the "little library on the stage" and shared that art, technology and music will in their classrooms! This creates space for kids to ask questions and build predictability during times of change and uncertainty!
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Grade Level Community Building Like "Panther Quest" at NC, NO students participate in "Cub Quest" where they first focus on classroom community building, then grade level communities and later students are mixed up into "families." In this photo students introduce themselves to new friends and share about their summer. | Cooperative Games Mr. Dalton, P.E. teacher at Nora shares that there are "competitive games' and "collaborative games" where you need to work together to achieve a goal. This collaborative game has students work with a partner sitting back to back and then trying to stand up!---it's harder than it seems! | School Banners Students at NO then added what it means to BE SAFE, RESPECTFUL and RESPONSIBLE on these banners that will be hung in the school! |
Grade Level Community Building
Like "Panther Quest" at NC, NO students participate in "Cub Quest" where they first focus on classroom community building, then grade level communities and later students are mixed up into "families." In this photo students introduce themselves to new friends and share about their summer.
Cooperative Games
Mr. Dalton, P.E. teacher at Nora shares that there are "competitive games' and "collaborative games" where you need to work together to achieve a goal. This collaborative game has students work with a partner sitting back to back and then trying to stand up!---it's harder than it seems!
School Banners
Students at NO then added what it means to BE SAFE, RESPECTFUL and RESPONSIBLE on these banners that will be hung in the school!
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Selfie I cannot believe that the students who were in MY first grade classroom when I taught at GB are now FIFTH GRADERS!!!! They make me feel so old! I love connecting with previous students and asking them about their families and summers! Even just taking a simple selfie together makes kids feel remembered and valued :) | Activate Those Brains! Mrs. Brinkman, music teacher at NO, led K students in a ritual that she starts every music class with by activating students brains and bodies by crossing mid line, tapping pressure points, brushing/patting their skin and breathing! | Mural Creations Students creating their cubes like "Thank You X"----what a great way to build social awareness through art! |
Selfie
I cannot believe that the students who were in MY first grade classroom when I taught at GB are now FIFTH GRADERS!!!! They make me feel so old! I love connecting with previous students and asking them about their families and summers! Even just taking a simple selfie together makes kids feel remembered and valued :)
Activate Those Brains!
Mrs. Brinkman, music teacher at NO, led K students in a ritual that she starts every music class with by activating students brains and bodies by crossing mid line, tapping pressure points, brushing/patting their skin and breathing!
Mural Creations
Students creating their cubes like "Thank You X"----what a great way to build social awareness through art!
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The Breathing Ball One of my very favorite tools that is under $10 on Amazon! This K friend was feeling rather wriggling during school wide expectation talks at NO so we took a walking and breathing break together! | Inhale! | Exhale! |
The Breathing Ball
One of my very favorite tools that is under $10 on Amazon! This K friend was feeling rather wriggling during school wide expectation talks at NO so we took a walking and breathing break together!
Inhale!
Exhale!
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Be Proactive vs. Reactive! I know it seems obvious but we often get so busy and just assume kids should " know better." Actually we are pretty good about this at the start of the school year but often don't revisit it as much as needed throughout the year! Ms. Keegan, first grade teacher at SM, had such a proactive conversation regarding restroom expectations with student input BEFORE visiting the restroom! | Play Based Learning We all know that more time is needed for play at school! K students in Mrs. Moore's classroom at SM had ample time to explore classroom materials and organically build friendships and express relationship skills-especially sharing! | Morning Message in Music Even in specials classrooms, the responsive classroom framework of starting with a message, greeting, sharing and then activity is PERFECT! Mrs. Locke, music teacher at SM, sets a consistent structure similar to what students experience in the classroom to build predictability! |
Be Proactive vs. Reactive!
I know it seems obvious but we often get so busy and just assume kids should " know better." Actually we are pretty good about this at the start of the school year but often don't revisit it as much as needed throughout the year! Ms. Keegan, first grade teacher at SM, had such a proactive conversation regarding restroom expectations with student input BEFORE visiting the restroom!
Play Based Learning
We all know that more time is needed for play at school! K students in Mrs. Moore's classroom at SM had ample time to explore classroom materials and organically build friendships and express relationship skills-especially sharing!
Morning Message in Music
Even in specials classrooms, the responsive classroom framework of starting with a message, greeting, sharing and then activity is PERFECT! Mrs. Locke, music teacher at SM, sets a consistent structure similar to what students experience in the classroom to build predictability!
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Executive Functioning and Exercise! Mr. Campell, P.E. teacher at Spring Mill builds executive functioning and self regulation skills with a classo]ic game-snake in the grass-where students have to plan when to jump over the rope and practice self control! | Identity in Art In Mrs. Dean's classroom in Art at SM, students created a self portait with symbols that represent them as parts of their face! Here you can see a boy with a youtube logo as an eye and slice of pizza for his mouth! | Snacks We cannot learn and feel safe when we are hungry! It is a basic need! So many teachers purchased snacks out of their own budgets to ensure all students received a snack if they had an early or late lunch this week! Thank you for always going above and beyond for your kids! Also that popcorn looks so yummy in Mrs. Finley's third grade classroom at SM! |
Executive Functioning and Exercise!
Mr. Campell, P.E. teacher at Spring Mill builds executive functioning and self regulation skills with a classo]ic game-snake in the grass-where students have to plan when to jump over the rope and practice self control!
Identity in Art
In Mrs. Dean's classroom in Art at SM, students created a self portait with symbols that represent them as parts of their face! Here you can see a boy with a youtube logo as an eye and slice of pizza for his mouth!
Snacks
We cannot learn and feel safe when we are hungry! It is a basic need! So many teachers purchased snacks out of their own budgets to ensure all students received a snack if they had an early or late lunch this week! Thank you for always going above and beyond for your kids! Also that popcorn looks so yummy in Mrs. Finley's third grade classroom at SM!
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Hang in There I love this safe space in Ms. Hartengel's second grade classroom at Spring Mill! There are materials intentionally placed for students to feel calm and inspired to create---like this hanging basket of colored pencils! | Name Tags Another way to affirm student's identities is by allowing them to create their own name tags! This is also a great literacy activity to find vowels, consonants and blends in each other's names! | Finding Common Ground Students in third grade at SM built connection with each other by finding friends that might have the same number of siblings, favorite color, eye color and more! |
Hang in There
I love this safe space in Ms. Hartengel's second grade classroom at Spring Mill! There are materials intentionally placed for students to feel calm and inspired to create---like this hanging basket of colored pencils!
Name Tags
Another way to affirm student's identities is by allowing them to create their own name tags! This is also a great literacy activity to find vowels, consonants and blends in each other's names!
Finding Common Ground
Students in third grade at SM built connection with each other by finding friends that might have the same number of siblings, favorite color, eye color and more!
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Calm Corner I love seeing the calming corners already set up in your classrooms! Don't forget to proactively teach how to utilize this space by doing a mini lesson AT the space with the entire class. Then modeling using the space YOURSELF and allowing all students to visit the space even when they do not need it to proactively practice it's intentions! | Buddies Because how cute are they?! :) | New Procedures Remember to check your own mindset and BE PATIENT with new cafeteria or transportation procedures! This is a learning process for all and will get it's flow down! :) Give each other and the kids GRACE! |
Calm Corner
I love seeing the calming corners already set up in your classrooms! Don't forget to proactively teach how to utilize this space by doing a mini lesson AT the space with the entire class. Then modeling using the space YOURSELF and allowing all students to visit the space even when they do not need it to proactively practice it's intentions!
Buddies
Because how cute are they?! :)
New Procedures
Remember to check your own mindset and BE PATIENT with new cafeteria or transportation procedures! This is a learning process for all and will get it's flow down! :) Give each other and the kids GRACE!
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I feel happy! | Literacy Integration Ms. Harton models stretching out the word "nervous" with her students! | I feel excited! |
I feel happy!
Literacy Integration
Ms. Harton models stretching out the word "nervous" with her students!
I feel excited!
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Cause and Effect Building towers like these are a great way to learn cause and effect through play in K! | Sharing As students in 2022 are entering back into more of a "normal" post-ISH covid time---we now have more opportunities to encourage sharing and collaboration with hands on manipulatives! FINALLY! | Hand Signals Many of you teach kids hand signals in your classroom for tissues, pencils, restroom, etc. This is a great way to build independence, advocacy in non verbal ways to get your attention! Mrs Merritt, k teacher at SM, teaches her students the restroom signal. |
Cause and Effect
Building towers like these are a great way to learn cause and effect through play in K!
Sharing
As students in 2022 are entering back into more of a "normal" post-ISH covid time---we now have more opportunities to encourage sharing and collaboration with hands on manipulatives! FINALLY!
Hand Signals
Many of you teach kids hand signals in your classroom for tissues, pencils, restroom, etc. This is a great way to build independence, advocacy in non verbal ways to get your attention! Mrs Merritt, k teacher at SM, teaches her students the restroom signal.
Where to find me:
My "home base" is at Spring Mill this year but I schedule myself to visit every school including Hilltop each week!
Other ways to contact me are below!
