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SEL/Advisory

Social Emotional Learning

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has always been interwoven into the fabric of the Putnam Ave. community and is incorporated in a variety of ways. One of the bedrocks of community building at Putnam Ave. is our daily Advisory program. While part of the focus of Advisory is on portfolio and our school-wide organizational system, building a sense of community and belonging is an essential component of Advisory. Advisories are purposely made up of smaller groups of students, and whether it be through circle activities, team building games, or celebrations, students should feel a sense of community and connection in these groups.

Another offshoot of remote learning has been the introduction of our “Panther Playground.” Since our students cannot congregate physically for recess during this time, staff members facilitate this recess virtually to still provide students with an opportunity to play games, connect, and have fun. In addition, we will also offer a daily, staff-supervised, virtual lunch period during which students can have the option to each lunch with their peers.

Putnam Ave. is also fortunate to have two school adjustment counselors, Jiar Ahmed and Mathieu Perry, and one guidance counselor, Joanne Edouard. All of our counselors provide individual and group counseling, and these services are still offered during remote learning. If you are interested in or have questions about receiving counseling services, you can contact a member of the counseling team.

Lastly, it is important to acknowledge that uncertainty can bring with it a wide range of emotions. This can be an opportunity to practice Steps to Gain Control of Your Emotions and Emotional Self Management -- calming our amygdala might just be what we all need in these unprecedented times! Our Balance and Wellness Page also offers a range of wellness and SEL resources.

Advisory

Advisory is daily time that we spend in small groups building relationships with students, supporting social emotional learning, and working toward a common goal. Our school-wide objective for advisory is:

We will BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with students BY:

exploring and honoring their identities (Story of Self),
reflecting on their progress with the core values (Portfolio),
assisting with executive function (School-Wide Organization System), and
celebrating reading (Independent Reading time and celebration)

IN ORDER TO create a community where students are academically and socially successful.

We believe that through these activities: relationships are built and nurtured; students will feel respected and their identities honored; their social emotional skills will be further developed and practiced; and, that will result in students who will become academically and socially successful.

Our advisory program is thoroughly linked to and supports Social Emotional Learning (SEL) The district defines SEL as the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to understand and manage emotions, achieve goals, and show empathy in order to maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions. In other words, it is teachers supporting students to: manage how they feel; achieve goals and empathize; practice this each day.

So, how do we do this work in our advisory program at Putnam Ave.? You can find a 1-page handout that provides an overview of our advisory program and story of self HERE.

CIRCLES → Circles provide every student with a voice and ensure that everyone is heard. They offer a concrete way to learn more about the students in your advisory and provide a mechanism for celebration, as well as difficult conversations. Through this students learn to manage emotions, show empathy, and form positive relationships.
STORY OF SELF → Story of Self provides an opportunity to dig deeper into our core value of pride while learning more about one another -- who we are and what we value. The time spent crafting these stories also provides an opportunity to build positive relationships through working together, reflecting on decisions/choices we have made, and demonstrating empathy. Learn more HERE.
ORGANIZATION → We support students with executive function and help them manage large amounts of information. This also provides a chance to help students set and monitor concrete goals based on their progress. During in-person learning this includes a school-wide portfolio system (Learn more HERE). During remote learning, this includes online notebooks, management of Aspen and Google Classroom, and support organizing their online folders and documents.
PORTFOLIO → Our core value portfolio, at each grade level, supports students in exploring and considering their progress with the core values. Advisors and advisees again build their relationships by working together to manage time, reflect on experiences, gather artifacts, and think deeply about our core values. Portfolio offers a chance to integrate all of the SEL competencies: skills to understand and manage emotions, achieve goals, and show empathy. At the end of the school year, each grade level presents and shares their portfolio with a variety of audiences. Staff should use the advisory calendar, which highlights important dates (i.e. Story of Self Day, Portfolio due dates) and helps to guide pacing.
INDEPENDENT READING → Not only does independent reading offer a wonderful way to connect with students through books and modeling, but also it provides a concrete goal of 20 books to work toward as team. Learn more HERE.

During remote learning, advisory will take place every morning (8:40-8:55am) and every Wednesday for 100 minutes. For the daily morning advisory the expectation is that this is a live opportunity to connect with students and take attendance. Attendance for the day will be taken here and entered in Aspen by 8:55am. It will also be a time to engage in a morning circle -- Mindful Monday, Think about it Tuesday, Would you Rather Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Favorite Friday. Wednesdays allow time to continue to build relationships, dig into the core values, and work on Story of Self and Portfolio.

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