Social-Emotional
Over the summer, we created a comprehensive COVID reopening plan which offered our students the choice of full time in-person or remote instruction. The vast majority of our students chose in-person and it has gone incredibly well. We certainly had our share of adjustments but overall the fall in-person instruction was quite successful. I think being able to offer in-person learning had significant positive effects on our students’ mental health. It also gave us an opportunity to onboard new students, establish rapport, and get our students comfortable with our routines and approach to learning. Read more about our first week of in-person instruction on our blog “First Week of In-Person and Remote Learning.” An essential feature of our reopening plan was having a planned switch to remote learning from November 30th-January 18th. We anticipated that COVID rates would be high, it would be the height of flu season, and that…
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At The Sycamore School, we regularly participate in professional development training. They cover a wide range of topics over the course of a year from familiarizing staff with our on-line platforms, authentic assessment, and executive functioning supports, to anti-bias training and social-emotional skill-building. Last week during our teacher workday, we had professional development training on Mindfulness, specifically Mindful Educators. This was the third workshop in a series facilitated by Erin Sonn, M.Ed, ERYT, YACEP, who is a yoga instructor and mindfulness coach. In this workshop, Erin introduced the idea of a beginner’s mind, a Zen Buddhism concept, which is similar to a growth mindset or having a blank slate – opening up our mind and freeing it from past experiences and preconceptions. When applied to learning, it’s the idea of approaching learning with openness and curiosity. For example, sometimes we approach a subject with preconceptions that color our experience; for…
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Back to School 2020 has necessitated months of creativity and planning. The hard work paid off when our in-person learners walked through the door Monday for their first day of school. Simultaneously, our remote learners were logging on to start their first day. Each was exciting and eventful in their own unique way. But we all started this school year together as a community. It was an exciting, busy and eventful week. We were reminded that while proper planning and preparation are important, maintaining a positive and open mind is equally important. We have put in the months of planning and now we need to execute our plans being mindful of the current environment. Flexibility is our mantra for the year. Masks Not a big deal. Despite all the worry and anticipation around wearing masks, all the students wore their masks and didn’t complain. They seemed happy. Over the course…
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It’s one week before we open our doors (literally) for the new school year at The Sycamore School! It’s been a wild ride since we had to switch to a virtual model this past spring and as we’ve been preparing to resume class in-person next week. Every summer at this time, staff wish for an extra planning week to get just *one* more task done. Even though our core team works all summer preparing for the upcoming school year, it never feels as if we have enough time. There is always more we want to do to prepare for the upcoming school year. This year is no different. While there are still those little items on our to-do list that we are scrambling to finish, the hard work is done. We are ready. There is always excitement in the air the last week before school starts. This year the excitement…
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Every Friday, students at The Sycamore School go into the community for Field Study Fridays. Outings include field trips related to their coursework, community service activities, and some fun team building adventures. Faced with a stay at home order, these Fridays have looked a little different. Thanks to collaboration, creativity, and student choice, The Sycamore School has been able to continue with its Field Study Fridays. TSS formed a virtual Friday staff committee to think outside the box and craft Friday activities that would offer students a variety of choices designed to connect their learning to our larger world, continue our community service Friday focus, and give our core teachers some critical planning time. Although students couldn’t venture out of their homes, they were given a variety of options, enabling students to pursue interests of choice. Our virtual Fridays started with an all school meeting, where students could touch base…
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Shifting to distance learning has been an adjustment for students, staff, and parents. At The Sycamore School, we offer individualized instruction, so our unique challenge was determining how to offer the same level of support remotely, recognizing that: Many of our parents work full time, so they have limited ability to monitor and check in on their students while they’re working from home. Many of our students struggle with executive functioning skills, so we had to figure out how to get them into a routine that worked for them and their family; Once it became apparent distance learning was not a short-term endeavor, we divided up our students between our staff. Each staff member was the point person for a small cohort of 10 students, checking in with them daily and helping them create and maintain a daily schedule. While this was a good starting point, it wasn’t always enough.…
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Tips and Resources to Keep Kids and Families Active and Calm During the Coronavirus Outbreak (and always!) Are your kids going crazy in the house? At the Sycamore School, our physical education program is called Movement & Mindfulness. While families begin to adjust to virtual schooling, our school counselor and Director of Student Services, Yvette Mitchell, compiled the following list of ideas to help kids stay active and peaceful (we think this will work for the grown-ups, too!) MOVEMENT IDEAS Walking Basketball Jumping on a trampoline Gymnastics Baseball (with family) Yoga poses Tossing a ball Walking a dog Dancing (anywhere, anytime) Martial arts Soccer Jogging Stationary bicycle Hiking and/or nature walk Wii sports MEDITATION APPS Calm (meditation) Stop, Breathe, Think (meditation app) Insight Timer (meditation) TEEN WELLNESS WEBSITE Change to Chill, Change to Chill is a free, award-winning, mental well-being resource offered by a subdivision of Allina Health. Our interactive…
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We have all heard the term “Mean Girl.” According to a recent school study, nearly 1 in 4 girls reported being bullied during the year. This is in sharp contrast to only 17 percent of boys report being bullied. A recent AP article reports girls are 3 times as likely to experience cyber or text bullying than their male counterparts. It is clear that girl-on-girl bullying is on the rise and is impacting students on a daily basis across the country. But does it have to be this way? Recently, The Sycamore School, Arlington Magazine, and Mothers of North Arlington (MONA) co-sponsored a community screening of the documentary Finding Kind. Following the screening, our school counselor facilitated a discussion with the parent and child attendees about the documentary. As the group processed the documentary, there were a few key takeaways. Small Changes Make Big Impacts Change can start small.…
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Recently, the Washington Post featured an article Seven ways parents and educators can improve kids’ middle school experience. This article does a great job describing both actions we as parents can take and highlighting steps schools have successfully taken to improve the middle school experience. As I read the article, it felt as if they were describing The Sycamore School and our core tenants. At The Sycamore School, we integrate academic development, social-emotional growth, and civic engagement. The result is a school environment that is designed to provide the best middle and high school experience for our students. Here are examples of how our school is designed for a positive and rewarding school experience. Trust them with responsibility – Instead of offering whole class instruction, our students work at their own pace and use teachers and classmates as resources and guides to help them problem solve and work through challenging…
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On the first day of school it’s hard to tell who is more nervous, parents or students. You all want the school year to be a success, but there is some doubt and worry that it mightnot go as well as hoped. First day excitement and nervousness is very normal. Some students get excited by a new school year full of old friends and new experiences. Other students worry about new teachers, keeping up with the demand of a new grade, and just the overall unknown, which is also completely normal. Over the course of the first few days to weeks of the school year, most students will start to settle into the rhythm and routine of the new school year. Some students may even take a month or longer to fully settle into the new school year, which can also be completely normal. How do you know your student…
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Instead of being a snowplow parent, give your kid a shovel and show them how to use it. Helicopter parent, snowplow, lawn mower, bull dozing, blackhawk, tiger mom…there are an increasing number of phrases used to describe today’s parents in a pretty unflattering light. We hear that seemingly well-meaning parents are actually doing harm to their kids, all under the guise of parenting. The latest high profile case was parents bribing SAT/ACT proctors, fabricating their children’s transcripts, and paying off college coaches to get their children into “elite” colleges. Let’s be honest, we all can identify with at least some of these traits. How many of us have called up our children’s school to request a certain teacher, made a point of ingratiating ourselves to our child’s coach in the hopes of getting them more playing time, volunteered to be a room parent in order to get the inside scoop…
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Guest Post by Current TSS Parent If your 5-10th grade student isn’t thriving at their current school and you are considering other options, I highly recommend The Sycamore School (TSS). Our daughter transferred in November, and it’s one of the best decisions we’ve made. She went from having terrible school anxiety and refusal, to happily skipping inside the building and being incredibly proud of her school. She had horrible math anxiety, and now signs up for extra math classes to try to improve her math. She tells me that she now likes math! What makes TSS different is the small, personalized, engaging, and experiential learning. There is a lot of choice, and with that comes personal accountability and responsibility. TSS recognizes all students don’t learn the same way. They accommodate a variety of learning styles by offering a choice-based learning model with personalized instruction. In their words: “TSS is for students who would…
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