This summer, we had trainers from The Institute for Social and Emotional Learning teaching our teachers from preschool through high school on how to share these concepts with students. Thankfully, we were able to use Camp Saturna Environmental Education Center (Saturna Environmental Corporation © 2015).
St. Paul’s Academy’s Lower School Director Gretchen Buscko mentioned in her weekly Blog Bits, “The way we help students become successful citizens is by teaching them the tools it takes to be a good communicator, solving conflicts by rationally discussing a problem and explaining your viewpoint, and teaching them how to flourish in any social situation. Our teachers have been working hard to further develop the skills it takes to make these advanced concepts easy for elementary aged students to understand.” This development kick started the direction of the teachers as they prepared for the school year.
Our First grade teachers, Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Jorgensen, said, “This social-emotional training was a great experience for the staff. The hands-on experience helped us understand the value of these activities for our students. We gained a lot of tools for strengthening classroom communities. It has set a positive tone for our school community this year.” There is no question that the lasting effects of this professional development will be within our communities the rest of the year.
For more information regarding The Institute for Social Emotional Learning check out: http://www.instituteforsel.org
