This Friday, March 26, the students and staff at Hilltop Elementary School will be celebrating International Social Emotional Learning Day (SEL). Studies show that SEL provides many benefits to students—from improved social-emotional skills, well-being, and behavior to improved academic outcomes—and these results are long-term and global, with proven positive impact up to 18 years later on academics, conduct problems, emotional distress, and drug use. SEL competencies are also critically important for long-term success in today’s economy.

At Hilltop, our incorporation of SEL, through morning meetings, character education books, lessons with school counselors, and our focus on teacher language helps students of all ages to better comprehend their emotions, feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others.

We are welcoming and dismissing students with songs of encouragement!

In the morning, we will play Try Everything from the movie Zootopia.

In the afternoon, students will be treated to How Far I’ll Go from the movie Moana.

You can play these ahead of time so your child knows the tune.

Each year the HSA supports our SEL and Character Education initiatives by purchasing a book for all classrooms. These books are read annually as students appreciate the story differently as they grow and mature and make new connections to their lives and other stories.

We will be having a colorful display of the ways we have shown SEL through our Character Education Bulletin Boards in our front hallway. We aim to have students create the boards themselves as they enjoy being part of its development and admiring the accomplishments of others.

We will also be sending students home with a Spring Break BINGO sheet that will encourage them to demonstrate their ability to show their SEL skills.

Work with your child (and others in your home) to accomplish as many boxes as possible! Set a goal with a reward. A special family activity is a win-win - like a bike ride, a trip to the Mendham Creamery, or other bonding experiences.

Mrs. LeMay has created a link to a collection of SEL titles on Get Epic. This collection includes books and videos compilations of books. She has shared this GET EPIC SEL Book collection with students through their Get Epic mailbox.

Take a look together and enjoy some great titles online!

At Hilltop, our staff follows the principles of The Responsive Classroom. Check out the resource below to learn more about their views on SEL.

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/about/about-sel/