Social Emotional Learning

 

 

Parent
NEWSLETTER

Nov 18, 2022

Hello Noble Families!

We have quickly approached fall break and we are so proud of all your students for working so hard up until this point! Here at Noble we have a diverse dedicated staff to your child’s overall success, in particular the School Social Work Team is committed to supporting your child and your families needs.

Mrs.Kanisha Malone LSW MSSW, Ms.Paulette Jackson LSW BSSW, and Ms.Fatuma Ali BA, work together at Noble Academy to help teachers and administrators ensure the academic, emotional, and professional success of the students we serve. As school social workers, we adhere to the professional ethical responsibilities delineated in the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics that include demonstrating our core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. 

Our vision and mission is in alignment with Concept Schools to provide a well-rounded education (whole child) that focuses on safe and positive learning experiences (happy child) and enhances students’ ability to succeed in school and life (self-actualization). 

 We are dedicated to ensure that our students, our staff, our families, our environment, and communities are taken care of and thriving. Our role is to assist in facilitating increased communication between home and school, to support students at school both individually and in groups, and to help parents with strategies that they can use at home with your child. With that being said, we wanted to let parents and guardians know some of the ways that we can be helpful to you and your child through educating everyone on Social Emotional Learning. 

What is SEL

S.E.L. stands for Social Emotional Learning. Social emotional learning includes management of emotions and behavior, the ability to identify and understand feelings in ourselves and others, the ability to form and maintain positive relationships, and the development of empathy for others in both students and adults.

We use collaborative and cooperative endeavors to help our students improve their social and emotional skills through culturally responsive strategies for immediate attention to the students who need support. Our Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) strategy is designed around - the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework. The CASEL framework identifies five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. 

Why is S.E.L. important? 

S.E.L. teaches important life skills that will carry over into adult life, making students positive, contributing members of society. Some of these life skills include the ability to understand themselves, develop positive self-esteem, take responsibility for actions, and maintain healthy personal and working relationships.

Here’s what Noble Academy is doing to ensure that SEL Strategies are being implemented successfully:

• School-wide behavior expectations and social skill lessons during Morning Circle Time and Brain Break Videos 
• Availability of S.E.L. library books with classroom lessons
• Increased staff awareness of S.E.L. practices- through Diversity & Equity Training on Culturally Sensitive Conversations previously this fall for all staff. 
• Behavioral health classes that incorporate social lessons for students in middle school 
• School Wide Panorama Fall & Spring surveys -that asks students questions about their social and emotional learning (SEL), school climate, and school satisfaction
• ROX ( Girls Ruling Our Experiences) Girls groups that promote empowering young girls through self esteem building led by Mrs.Kanisha & Ms.Paulette, & Middle School Social Studies Teacher Ms.Dotson.
• Boys Groups that promoted social emotional topics such as self awareness and growth mindset led by Ms.Ali.
• “Your Voice Matters” boxes are located in each building for the students and staff to voice any concerns or questions about their school experience. ( Also available to parents online at https://www.noblecolumbus.org/ under the Family Resources tab then click Social Emotional Learning. 
• Restorative Conversations between staff, students, and parents upon request from either party led by the Social Worker Team. 
• Non-Violent Communication Practices between students, staff led by the social work team. For more information on how to use Non-violent communication with your students and family members at home to solve conflicts in a healthy way please check out these resources at https://www.cnvc.org/. 
• Keeping the Peace Contracts with students- led by the Social Worker Team to solve conflicts in a healthy way. 

 

Voice

 Here at Noble, we value students, parents, and teacher involvement. We believe that those 3 factors contribute and aid to the students' success. Early involvement from parents with the school is one of the most vital and important relationships in our students' lives. It strengthens the bond and most importantly gives a student a boost. Students feel more inclined to do better with the support that they receive. 

Early involvement strengthens the relationship on both sides. Since parents know the child best, they are able to provide important information on how their education could be bettered for future educational success. When all three parties are involved, it shows the student that they have an amazing support system. We value the openness of all parents and students and have therefore created an environment where language is not a barrier. With support staff coming from many diverse backgrounds, we offer translation services for the parents who may not speak english. The languages vary from Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Spanish, Turkish and much more! 

 

Website 

• We appreciate you and want to offer as much support as we can to build positive relationships amongst all school staff, students, and families by communicating promptly, directly, and non-assumingly. So that we are an effective team in meeting the needs of our students and families.

Please visit our website at https://www.noblecolumbus.org/ 

 

When you visit our website check out the following: 

 

Noble Knights Newsletter

Our Newsletter has a section for each building to share weekly reminders and past events. We have a special administration corner, front-desk corner, nurse corner, DEI corner, School Culture/SEL Corner, Specials Corner, STEM Corner, and Extra-Curricular /CYSP corner.

Located under the “Family Resource Tab” at the top of the page.

 

Your Voice Matters 

Located under the “Family Resources” Tab and under this tab click “Social Emotional Learning” and scroll down to click on YOUR VOICE MATTERS FORM FOR FAMILIES. We appreciate and value your feedback on how to support you and your families well being.  

 

Family Needs Assessment 

Noble is dedicated to providing outside resources for support to children and families (ie: referrals to things such as therapy and family services, financial assistance programs, and other community resources.)

Located under the “Family Resources” Tab and under this tab click “Noble Academy Family Needs Assessment” and fill out the form for assistance.

 

Support at home 

Again our primary goal for our team is to improve student’s capacity to establish and maintain healthy relationships through establishing a safe, positive, and mutually beneficial environment through the 5 core competencies of social-emotional learning as identified through the CASEL framework: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. 

Check out these additional resources online: 

https://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning-parent-resources

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KKuSKGxwpjrmz1RCdGmJ1rKWbl8S3x1s/view?usp=shari ng 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y1VnHDTIuFHnKu1qPSysx3nSyPeDRpL0/view?usp=shari ng https://www.rcdmh.org/psp 

 

Conversation Starters with kids

Find a relaxing time when you can give these questions your full attention, such as around the dinner table or another quiet time. Don’t force a discussion. Keep it upbeat and have fun! www.onoursleeves.org 

1. What was the best thing that happened today?
2. How were you brave today?
3. Tell me your favorite joke.
4.  If you are the Dad or Mom of the house what would be your three rules?
5.  What do you want to be when you grow up?
6.  How were you kind to someone today?
7.  What is the best thing about school?
8.  When you feel sad, what do you think about to make yourself feel better?
9.  If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
10.  If you could have one superpower, what would it be? How would you use it? 

Free and Low-cost Resources

• https://CAP4kids.org/Columbus 
• Employment, Food, Housing, Clothes, Mental Health, Medical Health, Transportation and much more information. 
• www.Columbuslibrary.org 
• GED classes, Career help, ESOL classes, Homework help, Legal Aid and much more information
• www.211.org and https://lssnetworkofhope.org/211centralohiio 
• Employment, Food, Housing, Clothes, Mental Health, Medical Health, Holiday help and much more information.
• https://charitynewsies.org/clothing-application/
• Free clothes for kids grades K-12

 

 

In kindness, 

School Social Work Team 

Mrs. Kanisha Malone LSW MSSW [email protected]

Ms.Paulette Jackson LSW BSSW        [email protected]

Ms.Fatuma Ali  Social worker Assistant  [email protected]