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The middle school years are a prime opportunity to teach character and citizenship skills that will position our students to be successful learners and community members. At SCW we organize those efforts through what we call "SOAR". SOAR is an acronym; each letter stands for a core value in our community. S stands for Safety: Every student has a right to feel safe at SCW. O stands for Ownership: owning our future begins with owning our choices. A stands for Attitude: a positive attitude positions us to learn, grow, and engage. R stands for Respect: showing respect for myself and for others builds connections and nurtures our community. Together We Soar!
SCW SOAR MATRIX (FINAL).pdfThe Soar Matrix is living document. As new needs arise, they will be added to the matrix. Watch for an update soon as we develop SOAR guidelines related to social media.
Our Hawk Circles will connect content this year to our SOAR values. Hawk Circles are group discussions facilitated by a teacher. Student practice communication skills, explore questions or topics through group discussions, and generally get to know each other better.
The topics for this year's Hawk Circles are posted on the Counselor's Corner "Resource" tab.
S. Safety is a prerequisite for learning. When we don't feel safe, we find it difficult to concentrate and we stop taking in new information.
So...this video is probably more fun than substance, but it does highlight ways we can all contribute to a general sense of safety at SCW. While few of us, and even fewer of our students, might say we want MORE rules and structure, it is precisely the rules and structure that begin to build the feeling of safety at school. The minions show us a collection of general school rules that, if followed, help everyone in the community feel safe.
Take a minute to check out the Fight, Flight, Freeze Response on the Video tab of this site for additonal information.
O: Ownership means taking responsibility. This is one example of resource that can be a conversation-starter with your student on this topic.
A in our SOAR matrix is for ATTITUDE. The short definition we use at SCW for Attitude is, "I will have a positive attitude to help myself and others learn.
This video offers a nice example of how positive and negative attitudes shape outlook. When we apply this to our students and their learning, it highlights the importance of focusing on positives whenever possible to promote positive student attitude.
R: Respect refers not only to respect for others, but also for respect for self.
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