Social and Emotional Learning
Education’s main purpose is to provide all children with the foundations for achievement and social/emotional well-being in school, work and the world tomorrow. At St Gerard Majella we follow the Second Steps Program as well as utilising other resources.
At SGM our major goal at the centre of our school effectiveness framework is wellbeing and learning for all students. One way we strive to enhance student wellbeing is through our explicit social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. We aim to have SEL not only taught in explicit curriculum lessons, but student wellbeing is prioritised in all aspects of school life. Wellbeing initiatives, drawn from the positive education movement, include activities such as brain breaks throughout the day, prayer/mindfulness/meditation, fostering positive relationships, understanding character strengths and utilising positive language across all learning areas and activities. Some of the important social-emotional attributes we strive to instil in our young people are a growth mindset, positivity, resilience, grit, gratitude, persistence, kindness, patience, collaboration, confidence, calmness and empathy.
The main purpose of SEL lessons in our school is to provide all children with the foundations for social/emotional wellbeing to achieve to their potential in school and life. “Second Step” is utilised for the curriculum at SGM and is a program with strong foundations in social-emotional learning (SEL) that helps transform schools into supportive, successful learning environments uniquely equipped to help children thrive. The Second Step program is research-based, teacher-informed, and classroom-tested to promote the social-emotional development, safety, and well-being of children from Early Learning through to Year 6. Key themes covered include; skills for learning, empathy, emotion management and problem solving.
“Circle solutions” provides a framework for group interactions where participants can address issues not incidents, solutions rather than problems and strengths rather than deficits in a respectful, safe and inclusive space. Circle Solutions supports student wellbeing by giving students a voice as active participants in their school environment.
For further information on what SEL is, what it does, how it does it, and the SEL strategy in Catholic schools in the Cairns Diocese, click here.
