Social-Emotional Learning at Canadian Academy

Acquiring academic skills is an essential part of our students’ learning, and equally as important are social-emotional skills. This month, we held two parent workshops on social-emotional learning in elementary and secondary school. We introduced some practices we have been implementing in the classrooms.

In elementary school, each class starts with a morning meeting every day. To start the meeting, the students form a circle and make sure everybody in the class is included and feels safe. This meeting has been successful in multiple ways. For example, it has been a great opportunity for our students to practice sharing their ideas and feelings, listening to each other, and showing respect to differences. 

Our elementary school counselor is often involved in lesson planning with the class teachers and makes connections between Units of Inquiry and social skills. She ensures students can practice skills to build positive relationships and resolve conflicts. One of our student’s favorite parts in her session is puppet play, which makes it easier for children to understand the concepts. 

In secondary school, self-management is one of the skills we focus on. For example, our middle school students are expected to bring an agenda book to classes and write down their assignments. Also, we call Mondays 'Organizational Monday' and encourage the students to plan the week ahead. For our high school students, the Personal Project and post-secondary planning are great opportunities where students actually use their self-management skills. 

Tech agreements are also an essential part of self-management in our secondary school. We have some agreements such as 'people first, screens second' to ensure the appropriate use of technology as well as the students' well-being. 

These are just examples of our support to help develop students' social-emotional skills at Canadian Academy. We approach social-emotional learning from various aspects and ensure a safe environment for the students to thrive both academically and socially. Books and resources related to social-emotional learning are available at our library for CA students and families.