HPS classroom teachers for students in grades K-9 are leading weekly lessons and classroom discussions designed to help students build healthy relationships, manage strong emotions, and make caring, responsible decisions through the TRAILS Social Emotional Learning Curriculum.
These age-appropriate weekly lessons and classroom discussions focus on self and social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making, relaxation, mindfulness, problem solving, and more. In mid-October, for example, HPS students participated in lessons and discussions about thoughts, feelings, actions, and bullying. Students more recently have focused on managing strong emotions and applying self-awareness.
To support the messaging and social-emotional learning themes included in these classroom activities, three HPS students were recently invited to participate in a short, district-produced video in both English and Spanish about what it means to look out for each other and how to support classmates who may be experiencing bullying.
“Bullying can happen anywhere, at school, online, in the neighborhood where you least expect it. Bullying is not cool and it's not OK,” said Jaylina Alonzo, a third grader at Kelly School.
Janielys Ayala, a sixth grader at Sullivan School, said that “helping and standing up for others shows empathy, which means you care about how other people feel.”
There are other ways to support classmates and to look out for one another, as well.
“You can celebrate diversity, which means you appreciate the differences that make us all unique,” said Pedro Rosario, a junior at Holyoke High School North. “You can also learn to get along with others even when you don't agree with them.”
In English:
En Español: