Social and Emotional Learning and the Start of School

The new school year is closely approaching. I would like to share with you an article I just read from the online edition of Edutopia. The article provides wonderful suggestions on how to start the school year with positive feelings and optimism. Both are essential for a successful school year for our students, parents and teachers.

Reprinted from Edutopia by Maurice Elias

From a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) point of view, the most important consideration at the start of the new school year is to create positive feelings and optimism about school. This has many practical implications for both educators and parents.

Here are seven ideas to keep in mind:

Number One

Make a special effort to greet children in a positive and uplifting way at the start of school. Create a festive atmosphere, not a "get down to business" factory atmosphere.

Number Two

Highlight all the good and exciting things that will be happening at the beginning of the school year, as well as throughout the year.

Number Three

Give students a chance to share good memories about the summer, what they are looking forward to for the new school year, and something about themselves that they would like classmates to know. Time spent helping the students in a class bond in positive ways will bring large dividend later in the year as students work together in pairs, teams, and groups.

Number Four

Allow students to have input into setting the rules for the classroom, in terms of both "do's" and "don'ts."

Number Five

Give students an opportunity each day to reflect on what they are learning. Ask them to keep a journal and write down, at the end of the day, three things they are taking with them from the school day. Have them keep daily journals in one or some or all subject areas where, at the end of a class period or unit or project, they write down three things they are taking away from that unit of work.

Number Six

Parents, the parallel of all these apply to you. Keep the first days of school very positive. Allow time for routines to kick in. Don't get upset if your child is running late, or forgets things. Make it clear that you understand and expect by the end of the first week of school, routines will be set and work well. Ask your child for suggestions about ways to modify the routines that are not going well.
Also, after school, ask your child to share the best parts of the school day. Later, ask your child what they are looking forward to most the next day. Please note the words, "best" and "most." These are relative terms, so there will be a "best" part of a bad day and something to look forward to "most" even where the day is dreaded. In that way, you keep the focus positive. Remember, school is much more than classes. Asking about hallways, announcements, and things other than academic classes may garner special conversations.

Number Seven

Teachers and parents should share what the school is doing around social-emotional and character development, health, and such key areas as prevention of harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Parents, if you are not given this information proactively, seek it out. Teachers, your best hope for continuity and reinforcement of school messages out of school is if parents know what it is that their children are being taught!

The essence of SEL is to be sure that the adults dealing with children understand that the gateway to learning is through children's social and emotional skills and experiences. Opening that gateway at the start of the school year will lead to a smoother path during all subsequent days.

"7"

Anne Hall

The wonders of the ancient world, from Babylon to Rhodes,

The colors of the rainbow, the multiplying loaves,

Bright menorah candles on dark December nights

The stars of Ursa Major, those familiar twinkling lights,

The spots of lucky lady bugs, munching on the lawn,

And perhaps most famous of them all…the dashing Mr. Bond.

These things I’ve listed share a trait, a fascinating tie

Within the mind of humankind, and in nature earth and sky

For seven is their hallmark; seven stands apart because

Seven is a magic number, if ever one there was.

And so I think it’s fitting, even if it makes us blue

That I’ve had seven splendid years at Trident and with you.

Years one through three were tough ones; I taught a lot of boys,

Only Matt remembers the classrooms and the noise.

They say what doesn’t kill you only makes you strong

And thus my teaching skills improved as those years passed along.

6^th grade ancient studies was what changed everything

And many students here still know their rivers, maps, and kings.

Years four though six were seamless, I taught, I learned, I laughed

We did yoga in the lunch room, made masks and other crafts,

Ate fruits with Esperanza, built castles for Crispin

I’ve heard them say they wish that they could do it all again!

The food, the fun, the field trips, the contests, and the games,

We learned so much that none of us will ever be the same.

Yes, myself included, you’ve taught me all I know

My cup is running over, and now it’s time to go.

We’ve had seven back to school nights, seven Mardi Gras parades

Seven times I’ve made you read your poems up here upon this stage

Seven years of watching as you change before my eyes

As you learn new things and try new wings and then take off and fly.

I don’t know how to thank you; I’m not sure what to say

So I’ll dedicate this poem instead to all of you today

To all your perseverance to all your grit and drive

To all you bring to every day you come to school and try.

You are amazing students, and I’m lucky to have been

For seven years, your teacher, your leader and your friend.

An Unexpected Wonder

     I was asked to go on the Upper School trip to Costa Rica, and of course, said yes. My rationale was that with my own child starting off as a college freshman next year, trips for me would be far and few between. Yes, I knew that Costa Rica was made up of rain forests and cloud forests and had volcanoes, but I truly was not prepared for the incredible number of birds and the variety of wildlife that lived in and around these locals. To see leaves that an adult human could use as a place to curl up and read a book, or flowers that you and I pay good money for each spring growing wild along the roadside, should have been my first clue, but it took waking up to the sound of howler monkeys and the sight of steam coming out of an active volcano to really drive it home.

     It was hysterical to watch the students react to certain situations: unknown foods, “wildlife” such as spiders or lizards in their rooms (hello, this is a rain forest!), and doing without a lot of technology. It was gratifying to watch some of them overcome some real fears to participate in some of the activities and to have them force me to do the same. I was not big on going down that zip line and I KNEW a shark was waiting just for me when we went snorkeling, but if they could do it, I had to do it too. And it was great!  

     Many of the students were glad to pay the $8.00 bill for an American hamburger and fries when we got to the airport to come home, but I was already missing the plantains and the wonderful coffee. All of the people that went on this trip experienced things that we had not seen, heard, tasted, or experienced before from seeing cacao beans processed into chocolate (one of my personal favorites) to riding horseback along a ridgeline or deserted beach; bathing in pools heated by volcanic heat or having a science lesson in a tidal pool on a beach with tapir tracks; eating fresh coconuts or watching iguanas come tumbling from trees and ceilings to steal bananas from each other. These and so many other experiences truly made this an incredible trip. Not to mention the variety of planes, buses, and boats we took to reach our destinations.

     So, the next time you come by the school, talk to some of the students that went on the trip and check out some of the photos on the wall. Then try to figure out which student won a rodeo contest, “screamed like a girl” when he saw a spider, caught a blue sailfish, fell into a tilapia pond, lost his shoes in the river, went jet skiing three times, landed on a dirt road in a small plane, carried his luggage to a boat to be loaded from the beach, swam in a rainforest waterfall pool……You get the picture. It was wonderful and surpassed anything I was expecting. I would go back in a heartbeat, but just in case it doesn’t happen; I brought back as much coffee as I could fit in my suitcase.

Lalla G. Boatwright

Costa Rica Blog

By Frankie Holmes

Costa Rica was beautiful. There were so many things to do and places to see that I want to go back! When we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, I could tell there were a lot of differences in “here” and “there”. In Costa Rica, the traffic is crazy or maybe it was just the drivers. Costa Ricans are very good drivers, but their methods of driving consist of swerving, texting while driving motorcycles, and letting ten year-olds drive a motorcycle with younger kids on the back! When we got to our first hotel and we were assigned to our rooms, I noticed how big this hotel really is. It has little apartments spread out over a lot of land, and it took a good bit of time to walk from the lobby to our room.

            The first night, we had our first Costa Rica meal while watching a horseshow and some of us got to participate in it. Although I did not participate, I had a bunch of fun watching and eating. The next morning, we headed to the Arenal volcano where our next hotel was located. The volcano was awesome and you had a great view from almost every room in the hotel. The trips we went on in Arenal were very fun and amazing. We went on two hikes, zip lining, and to a hot springs resort that is heated by a volcano. My favorite thing in Arenal was the hot springs because it was the most relaxing and fun! There were slides into the hot spring pool, and they were rough. On one slide you would hit your head on the inside of the slide and it hurt, but it was still fun though.

            Our next hotel was far away from Arenal, and we had to take a small passenger plane to a place called Drake Bay, Costa Rica. It was beautiful. There was a great view of the Pacific Ocean and every afternoon there were tons of blue butterflies flying around the hotel. In Drake Bay, we went on a hike, snorkeling and whale watching. My favorite thing in Drake Bay was snorkeling and waiting to see if we were going to see some of the tsunami that hit Japan. We waited on the shoreline, waiting to see the reported 6 foot wave coming from Japan that was supposed to come around 4:00, but it never came. The next day, we found out that it did come around ten that night. It had sunk the tour boats we were supposed to use that day, but luckily, they had replacements. Our next stop was also on the coast called Manuel Antonio. We got to hang out on the beach, go jet skiing, and walk around the town, and that meant a lot of sunburns! My favorite activity was jet skiing of course! It was so fun, and we saw some beautiful beaches and a great view of the sun (which even our sunscreen couldn’t protect us from). Sadly, like every trip you have to come home eventually, but I will never forget the things I did and saw in Costa Rica. I hope to go back some time in the future!

Assistive Technology Open House, March 24

Mary M. Silgals 

               What is technology? A simple definition is whatever makes your work load lighter. At Trident Academy the aim of the assistive technology program is to make a student’s educational workload easier with the use of technology. The new assistive technology lab is filled with technologies that can bridge the educational gap for students who have learning differences. These tools are categorized into 5 groups: listening, math, organization and memory, reading, and writing.

                The library research lab conversion to an assistive technology lab took place in late January of this year. All of the old computers and monitors were replaced with new HP Touch Screen computers with 20” monitors. These computers allow for documents to be “docked” side by side or a document and a website to be opened and viewable at the same time. Students no longer have to go back and forth between what is on the Internet and their working document. The numerous features of these state of the art computers will be demonstrated at our Open House, March 24.

                 Also, on the new computers, software was installed that will help students complete their class work and homework. Worksheets and homework can be scanned and then typed on using one of the software programs. Students in my Research Tech class are becoming experts on all the programs that are installed on the computers, and they will be available to demonstrate them to attendees at the Open House.

                 A new all-in-one scanner/copier/printer was purchased and installed in the lab. This particular hardware allows for scanning materials and converting the text into rich text format. Documents saved in rich text can then be read out loud using one of the three text reading programs that have been installed on each of the computers.

                New to the library and the lab are twelve Kindles which are available for checkout for use in classes. E-readers offer solutions to students with reading difficulties. Font size can be increased, spacing between lines can be increased, and text can be read out loud. Also, built in dictionaries allow quick access to definitions while reading. Our students love them!

                Drop in Thursday, March 24^th to see what our assistive technology lab has to offer. My Research Tech students are looking forward to showing off our new lab and the great resources that we can provide!

Locked-In The Library

Mary Silgals

What can be more fun than an overnighter in the library? No, I was not cataloguing or shelving books or dusting at midnight, but instead I was having a great time giggling and chatting with five of our high school girls and one of our former graduates.

The idea of a lock-in came about last year when the Twilight Club met every Wednesday in the library.  The club members had planned on going to all the Twilight movies together which would allow us to meet and talk about how the movies were different than the books. Unfortunately, the third movie was released over the summer. I was in Denver at the time, and we were not able to all get together to view it. So, it was decided that we would have to get together one weekend night and have a marathon Twilight Saga evening dedicated to watching all three of the videos one after another.

The date was set to have the event on February 25, and at 6pm the girls arrived carrying with them their sleeping bags. The evening consisted of pizza, snacks, and 10 hours of video, midnight basketball in the gym, hide ‘n go seek with cell phones, and finding Edward in ten places in the building. (For those who aren’t in the know, Edward is the main character in the series, along with Bella, in the hugely popular teenage series).

Monday morning the inquiries began. How much sleep did you get? Average: one hour. Was there any drama? No, just twenty minutes of searching for one student who hid too well. Would you do it again? In a heart beat! The evening created memories that all of us girls will hold dear for many years. Next time, I must remember to have chair races in the darkened halls, and most of all, to listen closely for the sounds of children laughing and talking in the LEAD hallways. Two girls swore they heard them!

Mountain Music Comes to the Lowcountry

Mary Alice Satterfield

Clapping hands, tapping toes, smiling faces, and do-si-dos: all come together when Jeff Robbins is in the house doing what he loves best—playing mountain music. He has an engaging way and relates easily to children of all ages.

His knowledge of Mountain Music and the instrumentation it uses is broad—he has just the right accompaniment for each song. He brings a number of instruments to have available for performances. Guitar, banjos, fiddle, dulcimer, and mandolin are all on stage—each cradled in an instrument stand—ready and waiting to be used. Jeff plays all of them very well. On certain songs he uses a jaw harp which adds a signature twang to the mountain sound.

All of these elements were present on Tuesday, February 15, when students and teachers gathered in Trident Academy’s Multi-Purpose Room. The stage lights were reflected in the shiny woods used in the making of instruments Jeff was to play. Excited anticipation filled the room. We were ready for a good time.

The show began with energy that was sustained throughout the entire performance. Jeff’s enthusiasm was contagious! As hands kept time to music, All of us could not help but sing along. Happy responses were displayed by our applause and big smiles. One song kept us singing and laughing as we tried to make the correct motions for “Honk! Honk! Rattle, Rattle, Rattle, Crash! Beep! Beep!” Another favorite was “Sit Down Square Dance” during which Jeff “called” the motions to be made. The fact that the all of us remained in our seats did not mean that the movements we made were passive. It was fun!

Before and after the performance, Jeff and his wife Marci, presented workshops for the students. Each boy and girl made a “One String Pork-N-Bean Guitar” from a tin can brought from home that became attached to a piece of wood 2½ X15-20 inches. A guitar string, a nail, and an eye screw were used to finish the transformation into a bona fide, playable instrument. It is probably a sure thing that the guitars made that day will last a good while. Just seeing one sitting on a shelf will serve as a great way to call to mind a wonderful afternoon singing and playing with Jeff Robbins--one of the best mountain music ambassadors there is. What a treat!

                                                                                     

                                                                                    Mary Alice Satterfield