tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50903702537115575332024-03-12T18:46:17.864-07:00Small Steps, Big GoalsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14528360167394707045noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090370253711557533.post-49459894614947122902018-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:002018-10-26T05:05:09.745-07:00Mindfulness in the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mindfulness in the Classroom</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBWq4S_WPWDoyqy4KzBIJy8Yguzhoyj_4KMb4dXwYGcczSv7SAo7sU7DG7MolzyWpQOdyGopFDqQhwMwkAT0GnQycLjGy4xtrOKw0Q7vo06oLBZCzK8ySOVuYxg7Y30QsthJ5uYqVFxo/s1600/47076998-zen-mindfulness-meditation-female-hands-reaching-up-towards-the-word-mindfulness-floating-above-surr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="mindfulness picture" border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="450" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBWq4S_WPWDoyqy4KzBIJy8Yguzhoyj_4KMb4dXwYGcczSv7SAo7sU7DG7MolzyWpQOdyGopFDqQhwMwkAT0GnQycLjGy4xtrOKw0Q7vo06oLBZCzK8ySOVuYxg7Y30QsthJ5uYqVFxo/s320/47076998-zen-mindfulness-meditation-female-hands-reaching-up-towards-the-word-mindfulness-floating-above-surr.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">As awareness of student stress and anxiety increases, mindfulness in school settings is becoming increasingly popular. According to Psychology Today, mindfulness "<span style="background-color: white;">is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Many teachers and students at Sunset Ridge School have explored mindfulness exercises and activities to increase attention spans, calm excited bodies, and regulate emotions. Yoga, deep breathing, or short burst of exercise can be used as "brain breaks". These quick activities provide a structured pause, or time-out, from routine or intense classroom activities that allow students to reset or recharge. Many adults take mini-breaks like these, in the form of a bathroom or coffee break. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can this help our students?</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is a lot of support for practicing mindfulness with children. In the </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/mindfulness-for-children" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">New York Times article, "Mindfulness for Children</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"</span></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, David Gelles explores the benefits of mindfulness for both kids and caregivers. "</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Part of the reason why mindfulness is so effective for children can be explained by the way the brain develops." Gelles goes on to say, "</span><span style="background-color: white;">Mindfulness, which promotes skills that are controlled in the prefrontal cortex, like focus and cognitive control, can therefore have a particular impact on the development of skills including self-regulation, judgment and patience during childhood." </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sixth graders practice mindfulness before their first class.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At Sunset Ridge, teachers, parents, and students have been working together to manage stress and anxiety amongst students. Social-emotional learning has long been apart of the instructional culture in our district, and a large part of this focus is helping kids manage stressors with targeted strategies. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mindfulness seems to be an effective tool to help kids calm their minds in preparation to learn, create, and think critically. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What does this look like at Sunset Ridge? </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sixth graders at Sunset Ridge are encouraged to have a Mindful Morning upon entering their homeroom classes each day. After finding their seats, the homeroom students spend five minutes checking in on each other, with an activity called "Are You Above or Below the Line?", and taking a moment to still their minds and calm their bodies. This brief routine transforms a hectic arrival time, filled with slamming lockers, loud voices, and students rushing to class into a calm, supportive environment in less than two minutes.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvVwg5eIrrpTYH9DQ7-KwGy_CxbozlgOM9AOf3a3B48_ExsyEGKsZWkkr1drpCZMNUb5-z9q3V6x42A2ny0ybdBkKMySIocnv8uTq_cdjreARwMbWhSVRBJE1afvaOJtQcS475Htpzjs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-10-18+at+10.55.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="above the line/below the line example" border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvVwg5eIrrpTYH9DQ7-KwGy_CxbozlgOM9AOf3a3B48_ExsyEGKsZWkkr1drpCZMNUb5-z9q3V6x42A2ny0ybdBkKMySIocnv8uTq_cdjreARwMbWhSVRBJE1afvaOJtQcS475Htpzjs/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-10-18+at+10.55.57+PM.png" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Dawn Meziere, 6th grade teacher, brought the "Are You Above or Below the Line?" Check-In Activity to the team. Her daughters' teacher uses it to keep her students connected and focused on each other's well-being. Parker and Addie Meziere report that this routine helps the student's get to know each other and gives them a chance to share, positive stories and difficult issues, with their classmates. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Initially, our goal was to help students settle and organize themselves before the work of the day began. [<i>I'm switching to first person now, because I'm one of the sixth grade teachers trying out this new approach to start the day.</i>] But what has impressed me most is the increase in overall awareness of not only the students themselves, but in each other. It's a paradox, of sorts, when someone quiets her thinking to become more aware of her individual experience, she actually becomes more aware of others around in the process. Or maybe it's simply having more attention to spare for the people around oneself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is where mindfulness seems to take on something bigger. The act by itself is self-fulfilling. The self-care is evident; we can all benefit from pausing for a few minutes to </span>breath<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">, straighten our posture, and step away from the chaos of normal life. But when we, as adults, carve out time for this kind of ritual, it makes a point to say to our students and children, "I care about you as a person. I want you to be calm, collected, and content." Because this implicit message is valued and reiterated each day, children normalize this as the way to approach each other. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">When asked what they thought of the Below/Above the Line activity, students had positive comments to share:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I think it's a good way to share my/other people's moods without having to say anything if you're uncomfortable."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"It can be helpful to know if they are okay or not."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I like it. Since I am a pretty nosey person I like to know what other people are doing, how they're feeling, and how their life is going."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">"I think it has helped so you know who is having a great day and who is having a bad day so you know who to be more careful around."</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The sixth-grade teachers are also noticing the benefits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sixth-grade science teacher, Christine Keopraseuth, said, "I love it. It has made me more tuned in to what is happening outside of school with each of my students." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We are in the business of helping kids make connections, with text, content, and, most importantly, each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For more information and mindfulness exercises to try at home, I recommend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOlIdmMK_zM" target="_blank">this TEDTalk, by children's musician and mindfulness teacher, Kira Willey</a>.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05733350614254535637noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5090370253711557533.post-69702918327376394742018-10-23T10:43:00.001-07:002018-10-23T18:02:11.822-07:00Connecting with Small Steps and Big Goals<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Guest Blog by Dr. Ivy Sukenik, Principal of Sunset Ridge School</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Welcome to our <i>Small Steps, Big Goals</i> blog! The brainchild of sixth-grade teacher, Jennifer Kahlenberg. <i>Small Steps, Big Goals</i> will be a space where we highlight just a fraction of the phenomenal work being done by students and teachers here at Sunset Ridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sunset Ridge, with its population of 275 students and 60 staff, gives new meaning to the phrase "small, but mighty!" We currently have more than 10 clubs, award-winning band and orchestra programs, state champion robotics team, 8 interscholastic athletic teams, and a visionary student council, in addition to the world class instruction happening in each of our classrooms.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Birth of a Vision</span></u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the spring of 2018, Sheri Styczen, our Director of Technology and Innovation, Lauren Gray, our Library and Informational Technology Specialist, Kim Heilenbach, our Computer Science Educator, and I had the incredible good fortune of attending SXSWEdu, in Austin, TX. SXSWEdu (https://www.sxswedu.com/) is a remarkable conference that brings together people from around the globe to learn and collaborate about innovation, social-emotional learning, technology, and forward-thinking education. During some of our time together, we began to talk about telling our story - the story of Sunset Ridge - on social media. We came up with the hashtag, #D29Connect, that our staff and students could use when posting around the wide world of social media. We chose "connect" because we recognized the importance of connecting our school community to the village and world communities. As our time went on, we also began talking about the important life skills our students need, including empathy, perspective-taking, and a true understanding of people unlike themselves. Essentially, we wanted to be purposeful about building <b>connections</b>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kim Heilenbach, Lauren Gray, Sheri Styczen, and Ivy Sukenik in Austin, TX at SXSWEdu 2018.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When we returned, our existing social emotional committee began to brainstorm, with inspiration from the work of CASEL (https://casel.org/) ways to address student-student, student-staff, staff-staff, and school-community connections. Out of these brainstorms, the seeds of our #D29Connect program was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We decided to explore 6 different areas:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Student-student connections</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Service Learning</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Social Justice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Community Education</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">School-wide Behavior Expectations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Colleague - Colleague connections</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">During the summer of 2018, 6 groups of teacher leaders met together to develop mission statements and visions for their different areas of focus. Two of the groups, student-student connections and service learning, combined to form our Service Leagues (stay tuned on this blog for more about it!). The work of these dedicated educators led to the kick-off of #D29Connect for the 2018-19 school year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Each of these themes falls under a social justice umbrella, all with the focus of building connections and social emotional competency for all members of our school community. Our district mission statement reads "Cultivating a learning community that engages the hearts and minds of students, one child at a time." We live and breathe that mission each and every day. We are consistently taking small steps in hopes of making a big impact in our classroom, school, village, country and world communities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Small Steps, Big Goals is just one tool we are using to help tell our story and highlight the connections that are being formed and strengthened each and every day at Sunset Ridge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I welcome you to check in on this blog for some deeper dives into the amazing things happening on a daily basis in our state-of-the-art building and beyond!</span></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14528360167394707045noreply@blogger.com1