SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING NEWS
SEL - SERVICE LEARNING - CULTURE & CLIMATE
Guilford County Schools
March 2020
Spring into Action
Middle College at GTCC
Gateway
Southern Guilford MS
Foust Elementary School
Counselor's Meeting
Culture and Climate Team
Western High School
Haynes-Inman Education Center
The Middle College at UNCG
The SEL Spotlight
SEL Focus of the Month
This month's SEL focus is Relationships and Responsible Decision Making. Relationship building is the ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed. Responsible Decision Making is the ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. Make a commitment this month to invest in your personal and professional relationships. During this time take a moment to develop your communication and listening skills as well as to accept and celebrate differences.
SEL Quick Wins
Show Compassion
Compassion is empathy in action. We can often empathize with those who are suffering in some way. We understand what it might feel like to be in difficult or painful situations. People appreciate empathy. It lets them know they are not alone. But, compassion can go much further in building relationships. How can you provide support or encouragement for those in distress? Look for ways to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Then, offer the same compassion you would like to receive if it were you.
Forgive
"The power of forgiveness lies in the ability to see the person' humanity while responding to the wrong with clarity and firmness." (Aguilar, 2018) Remember that none of us is perfect, we all make mistakes. The ability to forgives leaves space for you to also be forgiven. When you go through a challenge with someone and come out of it with forgiveness, your relationship will strengthen. Forgive someone today. Or, at least start the conversation.
Talk to People
Talking to people is one of the best ways to get to know them. When you talk to others, you learn more about them, you learn about places where you connect, and you get to know your differences. Talking builds connection and connection builds relationship. Talk to someone new everyday for a week. Reflect on how your relationship changes with those people. Circle back and continue to talk and build on that relationship.
Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities
NCDPI is offering a training so that adults are better prepared to support this subgroup.
March 27. 2020 8:30 am -4:30 pm (Franklin Blvd.)
Register in Performance Matters - Course Code 13825
Ideas for Meeting SEL Openers & Optimistic Closures
SEL Openers and Optimistic Closures are great ways to build relationships among your school or department teams. They also help connect us to the 5 competencies. Want to include SEL openers or optimistic closures in your team meetings? Need ideas to start? Use the link below to find openers and closers that you can use with your team. Share your experiences or results by tagging us on twitter. Our handle is at the end of this newsletter.
School Tools
Reading Corner for March
K-5 Book Choice: Sulwe
Sulwe has skin the color of midnight. She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything.
In this stunning debut picture book, actress Lupita Nyong’o creates a whimsical and heartwarming story to inspire children to see their own unique beauty.
6-8 Book Choice: Winners Take All
In order to win an important baseball game, twelve-year-old Kyle claims to have made a difficult catch, which he actually dropped.
The unearned win gives Kyle and his team an unfair advantage in the championship series, and everyone considers him the hero of the game. But the praise and attention he receives is not enough to silence his conscience. Kyle is afraid of disappointing his family and teammates with the truth, but he is increasingly uneasy in his deception. Then his sports-crazed grandmother tells him about Christy Mathewson, a pitcher whose reputation for honesty had umpires asking him to make calls during games. In the end Kyle learns a valuable lesson about sportsmanship and realizes that being a hero is only worthwhile if you have earned it.
Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story series with play-by-play action that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats! An afterword provides the real story of Christy Mathewson.
9-12 Book Choice: The First Part Last
This little thing with the perfect face and hands doing nothing but counting on me. And me wanting nothing else but to run crying into my own mom's room and have her do the whole thing.
It's not going to happen....
Bobby is your classic urban teenaged boy -- impulsive, eager, restless. On his sixteenth birthday he gets some news from his girlfriend, Nia, that changes his life forever. She's pregnant. Bobby's going to be a father. Suddenly things like school and house parties and hanging with friends no longer seem important as they're replaced by visits to Nia's obstetrician and a social worker who says that the only way for Nia and Bobby to lead a normal life is to put their baby up for adoption.
With powerful language and keen insight, Johnson looks at the male side of teen pregnancy as she delves into one young man's struggle to figure out what "the right thing" is and then to do it. No matter what the cost.
STAFF PICK for Educators: Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.
Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.
Service Learning Updates
Service learning is taking place in our schools starting with elementary all the way through high school. Remember to always follow the service learning process which can be found in our service-learning handbook and in this awesome webinar.
Please reach out to Jacob Hicks (hicksj@gcsnc.com) the coach of service learning if you need help or would like to co-facilitate a service learning opportunity at your school.
Check out different types of service learning here.
Many schools are completing service learning daily and do not even realize it. Reach out to Jacob Hicks to assist you in making these connections.
Positive Behavior and Bully Prevention
Ten Facts Educators, Parents, and Students Should Know About the Harassment and Bullying of Students with Disabilities
Quotation Station
Our Team
We are always here to serve you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team if we can provide any support. To find out which SEL Specialist is assigned to your school, click here. http://bit.ly/SELSP
LaTrayl Adams, MS
Social Emotional Learning Specialist
adamsl2@gcsnc.com
Lisa Brenner, MSW
Director of Social Emotional Learning
brennel@gcsnc.com
Cynthia Brown, M.Ed
Social Emotional Learning Specialist
brownc2@gcsnc.com
Tawanda Carpenter, MS
Positive Supports and Bullying Prevention Coordinator
carpent@gcsnc.com
Shan J. Carter, MPA
Social Emotional Learning Specialist
carters6@gcsnc.com
Jacob Hicks, MS
Service Learning and Character Education Coach
hicksj@gcsnc.com
Sherry Rogowski, Ed.S.
Positive Culture and Climate Coordinator
rogowss@gcsnc.com
Tinisha Shaw, MS
Social Emotional Learning Specialist