At Seven Hills, education in character and ethics is centered around the school’s core values (wisdom, justice, courage, compassion, hope, respect, responsibility and integrity) brought to life throughout the learning day through the Open Circle framework to social emotional learning. Open Circle provides a unique whole school model where all adults in the school community - teachers, administrators, counselors support staff and families—use mindful practice to model and reinforce pro-social skills throughout the day and beyond.

 

The Seven Hills’ Core Values serve as a foundation for exploring how we view ourselves, others, relationships, and the impact of actions and interactions.  As with every concept, content or procedure at school, we approach instruction around the core values through a “name it, claim it, sustain it” framework.  We use literature, current and historical event analysis and cross content learning experiences and class meetings to define each core value, search for evidence of the value in action and incorporate the value into their own way of being.

 

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.   Social and emotional skills are critical to being a good student, worker and citizen; and many risky behaviors (e.g., drug use, violence, bullying and dropping out) can be prevented or reduced when multiyear, integrated efforts are used to develop students' social and emotional skills. (CASEL 2015)

 

Open Circle and Circle Forward are evidence-based social and emotional learning frameworks that proactively develop children’s social and emotional skills including recognizing and managing emotions, empathy, positive relationships and problem solving. They help schools build a community where students feel safe, cared for and engaged in learning.  Classroom teachers implement the grade-differentiated Open Circle Curriculum during twice-weekly, 15-minute Open Circle Meetings where students form a circle of chairs, including an empty seat to symbolize that there is always room for another person, voice or opinion.  These meetings are a familiar and safe setting for children to discuss important issues in their classroom, school, local community or the broader world. Concepts explored during the class meetings are reinforced through all content area classes, the guidance program and the daily operations of the school.  Open Circle lessons are highly interactive, incorporating large and small group discussions, role playing, community-building activities, and high quality literature.  The Open Circle Curriculum contains core and supplementary lessons, community-building activities, multicultural literature connections and Homelink letters that connect to the Seven Hills’ Core Values.  Sample lesson topics include:

 

·        classroom meetings

·        getting to know each other

·        establishing classroom rules

·        understanding non-negotiable rules

·        building community

·        encouraging student voice

·        listening

·        being calm

·        using positive self-talk

·        building positive relationships

·        giving and receiving compliments

·        cooperating

·        speaking up

·        expressing anger appropriately

·        responding to annoying behavior

·        understanding tattling versus telling

·        responding to teasing

·        addressing dangerous and destructive behavior

·        recognizing bullying behavior

·        being a responsible bystander

·        recognizing discrimination

·        understanding feelings

·        reading body language

·        developing empathy

·        problem solving

·        setting positive goals

·        brainstorming and critical thinking

·        reaching consensus

·        evaluating solutions

·        overcoming obstacles

·        building leadership capacity.

 

In addition to our Open Circle class meetings, students will be participating in a variety of learning experiences based upon growth mindset. “When students and educators have a growth mindset, they understand that intelligence can be developed. Students focus on improvement instead of worrying about how smart they are. They work hard to learn more and get smarter. Based on years of research by Stanford University’s Dr. Dweck, Lisa Blackwell Ph.D., and their colleagues, we know that students who learn this mindset show greater motivation in school, better grades, and higher test scores.” (Mindsetworks.com)  To support the development of this approach to learning, our students will use tools from Brainology, a blended learning program that teaches students how the brain works and how it grows stronger with active effort.  It also provides specific learning strategies to develop their intellectual capabilities, and why those strategies work based on the way the brain learns.”  (Mindsetworks.com)