Overview I am happy to say that I am not conferencing with any of you today! But not because we didn’t need to talk about the great work you’ve been doing. It’s that we’ve already completed a deep level of reflection and looking at your work as a team. Thanks to parents and guardians for completing the three legged stool (student, advisors/mentors, and family) that makes this approach to learning strong. I can already see how the exhibition and narrative writing has helped students go deeper into their work. I am writing today in the same format that I’ve used for each student’s quarter one review. Those have been handed to most students already and I will be sending those reflections out to parents soon as well. This week in Seminar, we reflected on the Circle of Courage that asks us to think how well we are balanced the areas of independence, belonging, mastery, and generosity. This is one of my favorite Seminars of the year. I’ve gathered information about this philosophy from Starr Commonwealth but it was first created by Native and First Nations cultures. Starr says, “This unique model integrates the cultural wisdom of tribal peoples, the practice wisdom of professional pioneers with troubled youth, and findings of modern youth development research.” I find that this model is best used proactively -- instead of waiting for trouble to arise, just consider how well you have these four attributes balanced. Revisiting this idea often is important. I had students reflect on the questions contained in the slideshow for two minutes each, that was about ten minutes in total. We then shared out about that experience and it was one of the most moving circles we’ve had all year. Miranda told me later that day that she almost had to get up and leave because we was overwhelmed by the depth of emotion that was present. In case you were wondering... it takes a lot of courage to learn this way. One of the themes of the coming month will be figuring out how to give back to the U-32 community with the work that we do. I know that Kayla has been trying really hard to find a way to volunteer to spend time with elders, many students are primed to be mentors for Branching Out Middle School students next semester. We're still thinking on it. One of my goals? Bring more mindfulness to our school district. Highlights:
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