It is such an honor to be a part of the Lakeville learning community. Each day, I get to visit classrooms where students are interested in their learning, staff is deeply invested in our students, and parents support us in being our best school everyday. On these days, I feel GREEN or YELLOW (see chart above).

On occasion, there are things that work against us trying to be our best. For example, on a daily basis people post comments that trigger emotions in others. The posts that are not founded in truth and intended to strike fear in others make me feel BLUE. The occasional post that takes a personal shot at people that I care about makes me feel RED.

Are you wondering what all of these colors are about? At Lakeville Elementary, we are a RULER school (trained by staff from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut).

RULER is an acronym for:

R ecognizing emotions in self and others

U nderstanding the causes and consequences of emotions

L abeling emotions accurately

E xpressing emotions appropriately

R egulating emotions effectively

This program was created by Dr. Marc Brackett from Yale University. As a child, Dr. Brackett was bullied and spent his life's work and research focused on ending bullying by addressing the emotions that cause children to act out. Dr. Brackett believes that HUMANS have a variety of emotional responses that land on a continuum. Each emotion may lead to an appropriate or inappropriate response. The RULER program is focused on helping students address their emotions in a manner that helps them to become their best self.

RULER has four (4) anchors (used daily): Class Charter, Mood Meter, Meta Moment, and Blueprint

1. Class Charter - The Charter is a collaborative document that helps schools establish supportive and productive learning environments. It is created by members of the community, outlining how they aspire to treat each other. A typical class charter reads like: "As a class, we wish to feel... (fill in blank)"; "In order to consistently have these feelings, we must ... (fill in the blank)".
2. Mood Meter - Learning to identify and label emotions is a critical step toward cultivating emotional intelligence. Using the Mood Meter, students and educators become more mindful of how their emotions change throughout the day and how their emotions in turn affect their actions. They develop the self-awareness they need to inform their choices. A chart below demonstrates how a Mood Meter works.
3. Meta Moment - Emotions can either help or hinder relationships, and we all have moments that get the best of us. The Meta-Moment helps students and educators handle strong emotions so that they make better decisions for themselves and their community. The Meta-Moment is a brief step back from the situation when we pause and think before acting. We ask ourselves, how would my “best self” react in this situation?
4. Blueprint - How everyone in a school treats each other has a powerful effect on classroom performance and school climate. Conflict between students, especially bullying, gets in the way of learning and success, and it also increases the time teachers spend off task. The Blueprint helps students and educators manage conflict effectively. Using the Blueprint, children and adults consider a disagreement from the other person’s perspective, as well as their own.

This is just a quick snippet of the program. In the near future, our Principal's Advisory League will be trained in the RULER program. When they are fully trained and feeling comfortable with their new knowledge, they will host a parent training opportunity. This will allow our families to use the same tools at home that we are using at school to help our children thrive in a challenging society. STAY TUNED... I will post upcoming events and training in our monthly SMORE issues.

Thank you for the honor of serving your children,

Kristy Gibson-Marshall

Principal

WHOA! It is a MORNING MEETING! Can you come?

This is a great opportunity to get involved in the school community, work closely with the principal, and impact the quality of your child's educational experience.