SEL Day Newsletter
Riverside County Office of Education
5th Annual International SEL Day
March 8, 2024
Celebrate SEL Day 2024
On March 8, 2024, the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) will join communities across the globe to celebrate the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) for the 5th Annual International SEL Day centered on Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders.
RCOE has collaborated with our CalHOPE SEL grant districts to create this newsletter with SEL activities and resources for educators, students, and families to help all grow in knowledge and understanding of the importance of SEL.
Sign up for SEL Day 2024
We know that social-emotional learning (SEL) changes lives. Studies show that SEL delivers long-term improvements in skills, behavior, and academic performance while reducing anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. SEL competencies are also critically important for long-term success in today’s economy.
We know you get it, but many members of our communities don’t know about SEL yet.
We need your help to make SEL Day 2024 a huge success. Want to promote SEL Day 2024 to others? Check out this Announcement Toolkit!
This National SEL Week and International SEL Day, we want to hear your story! Join the “Share Your SEL Story” Contest and tell the world how social and emotional learning (SEL) has impacted you in a written blog, video, or audio story. We are looking for stories from students, parents, teachers, counselors, school and district administrators, community leaders, and employers on the International SEL Day/National SEL Week theme: Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Leaders.
We’ll publish the top stories on the CASEL blog and social media platforms during National SEL Week, March 4-8, and readers will vote on the most impactful stories. The winner will receive a $100 gift card of your choice, and all finalists will receive a certificate and CASEL swag!
Learn more about the "Share Your SEL Story" Contest, including prompts and guidelines. Please submit your story to blog@casel.org by February 26, 2024.
Want to teach others about SEL? Check out the editable presentation below!
SEL Activities for the Classroom
- Think about ways you can share this newsletter with your staff and families.
- During morning announcements and/or at the beginning of class on SEL Day, read a poem, quote, or short story that connects to SEL.
- Have students create and display SEL Day posters that highlight SEL skills.
- Hold a contest for students to create SEL artifacts (e.g. artwork, poetry, stories, and videos) and announce winners on SEL Day.
- Design a SEL Day bulletin board featuring a tree with SEL skills written on the leaves.
- Provide students with the opportunity to create presentations on specific SEL topics to share with the class.
- Have student council/ASB students hold up welcoming/positive signs during school drop off and pick up.
Consider using the CASEL’s SEL Writing Prompts to assist students with reflecting on their own development.
Try the 4 Out the Door strategy with your students.
Provide students and staff with chalk to write positive affirmations on sidewalks during breaks and recess.
Use these Mood Meter Lesson Plans with your K-12 students.
Try out one of these Mindfulness Practices for Everyday!
Check out this Relational Activities Google Slide Deck for K-12 for fun ideas to build belonging and a sense of community.
Choose from 24 Morning Message Ideas to Get Your Day Started on the Right Foot.
Memes and quotes are different kind of language. Share this activity from Truth Be Told with secondary students to help them cultivate a growth mindset.
Read this article by Playworks on how to build community through play.
- Check out this article how to use Fist of Five to help students share their feelings or assess their level of understanding.
Read this article to learn how you can integrate PBIS and SEL in your classroom learning.
SEL Activities for Educators
- Design a video or newsletter to staff and families about how SEL is supported at the school site.
- Create an online “thank-you board” via Padlet or a “gratitude blog” where staff can regularly express their gratitude.
- Share information about SEL during a March PTO/PTA meeting or other family event/newsletter.
- Share best practices for integrating SEL or focus on analyzing SEL assessment data at a staff meeting in March.
- Create a SEL library area or bookshelf in honor of SEL Day, and feature SEL-themed books in a read-aloud program during the week of SEL Day.
- Try the National Institutes of Health Social Wellness Toolkit to learn how to strengthen your social network.
- Create a healthier you by exploring this Step-by-Step Guide to Wellness from SAMHSA.
Check out our Relational Activities to build belonging and a sense of community with your peers or with your staff.
Try this Mindful Self Compassion activity from Greater Good in Education.
Try this Adult SEL Origami Activity called Metamorphosis from the March 2021 California SEL Newsletter.
Check out this SEL Competency Choice Board from PBS Learning Media.
Read this article from Edutopia -- 7 Self-Care Strategies for Teachers -- and try one this week.
Try this Use Your Strengths activity from Greater Good in Education.
Review this great resource from Panorama on SEL check-in templates for adults and students.
Try this 3 Good Things activity from Greater Good in Education with your staff.
Try this Best Possible Self activity from Greater Good in Education with your staff.
Read this article and check out the guidebook of how to reinforce SEL skills through games.
Read this article from Panorama on 6 Strategies to Increase Family Engagement with SEL that district and site leaders can use with parents and students
Read more about Implementing Meaningful SEL for Staff.
SEL for EVERY Family
On SEL Day 2023, SEL4CA Steering Committee Member Dr. Lorea Martínez shared insights for how every family can blend SEL into their lives.
Check out this resource from Panorama to support SEL at home.
Spend time with a family member.
Read 10 Ways Parents Can Bring Social-Emotional Learning Home
As a family, do something kind for someone and then talk about how it made them and you feel.
Visit the RCOE Virtual Wellness Center and do family workouts together!
Make a gratitude list and write down all the ways you are grateful for one another.
As a family, draw a picture of someone you know is a leader and talk about the qualities that make them a good leader.
Design a calming space in your home where family members may go for some reflection.
Get up and dance together with KidzBop Dance.
Check out these 34 Conversation Starters for Families and consider trying some during car rides, meal times, etc.
Create a media post, email and/or video thanking an educator for all they have done for you. Don’t forget to include the school nurse office staff, cafeteria workers and other support staff.
As a family, make a list of 5 things that make you happy.
Try one of these Easy Social Emotional Learning Activities For Kids To Do At Home.
Choose a mindfulness activity from GoNoodle Flow. Many of these activities are in Spanish as well.
About CASEL
At the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, we envision all children and adults as self-aware, caring, responsible, engaged, and lifelong learners who work together to achieve their goals and create a more inclusive, just world. How? Through a commitment to SEL.
SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world.
Inclusive Welcome
Open each class period, meeting, or professional learning experience with an inclusive welcome.
An inclusive welcome is culturally and linguistically respectful, builds community, and connects to the work ahead. When planning and facilitating activities, educators are always thinking, “What’s my purpose?” The inclusive welcome is an opportunity to bring that purpose to life. What to a casual observer might appear to be an icebreaker or time-filler can be an intentional, effective educational strategy.
Engaging Strategies
Embed engaging strategies throughout the experience.
Engaging strategies offer opportunities for participants to more fully grasp content and to connect learning to their own contexts. Build in a balance of interactive and reflective experiences that vary in complexity and style to meet the needs of all participants and your intended outcomes for the time together.
Intentional Close
Close each experience in an intentional way that builds a bridge to a next step.
An intentional close highlights an individual and shared understanding of the content and purpose of the engagement, illuminates the intellectual and emotional experience just shared, can provide a sense of accomplishment, and supports forward-thinking. The closing activity may be reflective of the process or the content, help identify next steps, make connections to one’s own work, or show appreciation for one another.
TODAY!!!
Join the RCOE virtual SEL and Mental Health Community of Practice (CoP) aimed at increasing the knowledge and strengthening the practices of educators, staff, and students.
We will:
- Connect and collaborate
- Learn together about CASEL’s SEL competencies
- Design trauma-informed spaces for adults & students
- Share our experiences and grow together
Date: March 5, 2024
Time: 2:30 - 4:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Cost: No cost
Registration: https://events.bizzabo.com/533471
Presenter
Dr. Rhonda Nese is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon and the Director of the Nese Lab. Dr. Nese and her team are helping schools replace harmful exclusionary discipline practices with instructional and restorative alternatives to improve educator practices, student social and behavioral problem-solving, and student-teacher relationships. Dr. Nese will discuss the research conducted across four years of implementation and share strengths, limitations, and lessons learned.
RCOE Social Emotional Learning & Mental Health Conference
Seats are filling up! Register soon!
We invite you to attend RCOE's First Annual Social Emotional Learning and Wellness Conference as we bring education champions together to learn and share insights on SEL and Wellness that advance evidence, practices, and collaboration in support of all young people and adults.
Intended Audience:
SEL/PBIS/MTSS Site and District Team Members - Teachers, Classified Staff, Coaches, Administrators, Clinicians
Date & Time: May 20, 2024 from 7:30 am - 3:00 pm
Location: RCOE Conference Center
Cost:
Early Registration $75
Deadline: April 19, 2024
General Registration $100
Deadline: May 13, 2024
Registration: https://events.rcoe.us/RiversideCountySEL
Contact: Michele Shaw-Williams, Administrator's Secretary | mshaw-williams@rcoe.us
RCOE Mental Health Initiative
The RCOE Mental Health Initiative is one of four initiatives announced in Fall 2020 by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. The initiative is aimed at addressing the needs of the whole student beyond the classroom. The Mental Health Initiative includes supporting and expanding mental health programs and services within the 23 school districts in Riverside County.
This newsletter was created in collaboration with CalHOPE SEL grant districts.
Thank you to Darin Jones in CNUSD for her partnership with SEL4CA.
Kathy King, Director II
Theresa Stevens, Administrator
Denise Granger, Coordinator
School Engagement and Wellness Unit
Phone: 951-826-6255