April 2017

 Hello everyone!

 

This month I will comment briefly the main topics we discussed in Social and Emotional Learning lessons. In Secondary section we reviewed resilience as an important value, not only related to our goals, but also with our well-being. After that, we introduced the concept of mindset, distinguishing between fixed and growth mindset and how these different approach can determinate how students face challenges in their lives.

 

Students learned the importance of not giving up and seeking new challenges through different class activities. They were totally engaged and they tried hard in order to get success. Sometimes frustration could appear but then they started to see obstacles with a growth mindset attitude, which kept them trying different solutions.

 

 

In Primary section we learned about cooperation and peaceful ways to solve conflicts, emphasizing “win-win” situations. Students understood how important is help each other and sharing if we want to reach our goals as a group. We played some cooperative games during the lessons as well as some roleplays to practice the new skills to handle conflicts.

 

 

I hope that all this set of new social and emotional abilities can help our students in the last part of the school year, right now when they need to show more resiliency, energy and effort. I am sure they will appreciate all they learned through this year and it will have a great impact in their way to perceive challenges.

 

Thank you all for your kind cooperation.

 

 

March 2017

Hello everyone!!

 

This month I would like first to refer to one important day we celebrated in our school in last month: International Women’s Day. The previous week students learned about the importance of gender equality and we mentioned facts such as there are millions of school girls who don’t have the possibility to go to school because they are girls and they are expected to take care of the domestic tasks, and many other terrible situations. Students made some charts to remember, not only the huge contributions of women in different areas in our lives, but also all the injustice related to women’s rights and opportunities around the World.

 

 

In SEL subject in Secondary section, we discussed some thinking traps which influence in our feelings and behavior, such as “dark glasses”, “fortune telling” or “binocular vision”. We also describe in which way we can foster a more positive thinking and reframe all our negative thoughts.

 

 

In Primary section, students had a good time practicing the scale of voice volume and learning how importance is listening for a good communication. Next month they will continue practicing their communication skills in the context of conflict resolution.

 

 

I’m glad to complete this first month of this second term, feeling proud of all students who showed such a good attitude and spirit during Science & Arts Exhibition, before, during and after the event.

 

 

Thank you all for your kind cooperation.

 

 

 

 

February 2017

 

Hello everyone!!!

 

After a long vacation, students came back ready for another intensive and interesting term in Social & Emotional Learning subject. I hope they practice some of the skills they learned last term during the holidays, since the main purpose of this subject is teaching abilities they can normally use in their daily lives. In the two weeks of lessons in February we talked about the anger and some strategies to deal with it. We saw the anger model (how anger works) and then we discussed different situations which can make us angry.

 

The next lesson we talked about different strategies and skills to deal with our anger, such as counting up to ten, deep breathing or taking a walk. We also analyze how important is thinking about the potential consequences of our behavior in order to avoid trouble related to anger reactions.

 

After the fruitful experience I had during last week on last term, taking some SEL lessons in Primary section, I decided to be in charge of two lessons a week with these grades, rotating every three weeks. Last month we talked about dealing with our worries and positive thinking, and how to set our goals.

 

 

I wish you all a very good second term, and I hope both students and teachers can keep the same level of positivity than last term. New events are coming soon (Art & Science Exhibition will be this month) and we al need to do our best to get our goals. Together we will reach, I am sure.

Thank you all for your kind cooperation.

 

 

 

 

December 2016

Hello everyone!!

 

We finished our first term of Social & Emotional Learning talking about a very important concept in our lives: empathy. Unfortunately, this word is not very familiar for some of our students, so we have to foster it whenever we can. We discussed about what empathy is and how to show it in daily situations. Students practices empathetic situations through roleplays in which they needed to perform a situation whose characters show an example of empathy towards other people’s feelings.

However, the best example of empathy and “put in other people’s shoes” situation in real life this month came with students in grade 4th. They experienced during one period what being a teacher means and how difficult can be sometimes for us to handle a group. They worked in different teams doing a presentation for Primary section students. The result was satisfactory and all of them got an important lesson in life.

During final exams week, students from grade 3 to grade 8 were busy doing their papers, so I decided that there could be a good chance to teach one period of SEL in Primary section. It was a great experience for everyone and I am quiet satisfied with students’ work. They were very participative and active, and all of them enjoyed. We talked about happiness and what we can do when we are stuck in negative feelings. Don’t worry, be happy!!

And finally, the moment everyone was waiting for: Santa coming to school and the beginning of winter holiday!! It was the best way to end this term. The overall feedback is quite positive till now and I hope we can keep this climate the whole season.

 

Happy New Year for everyone!!

“I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.”

Roger Ebert