March 2023

March 2023 Newsletter 

Celebrating National Social Emotional Learning Day

Today is National Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Day! We are partnering with Children's Institute to share resources teachers and parents can use to support their students in developing SEL skills.

What is social emotional learning (SEL)?
Social emotional learning is how youth learn and gain the skills needed to regulate their emotions, create, and manage goals, show empathy for others, create positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Why is social emotional learning important to whole child health?
Social emotional learning goes hand in hand with social emotional health. SEL provides the tools and processes on how kids gain those important soft skills that lead to their success later in life and improve their overall health and well-being throughout their lifetime.

Continue reading this post on our blog.

Infographic: How Recess Teaches Social Emotional Skills

Did you know? Recess is one of the best ways schools can support the development of social emotional (SEL) skills!

Recess teaches:

1. Self-esteem
2. Stress regulation
3. Compassion
4. Empathy
5. Cooperation & teamwork
6. Problem solving
7. Planning
8. Active listening
9. Conflict resolution
10. Ability to focus

Download a copy of this resource.

FREE Workshop on March 22: The Value and Necessity of Play

We are partnering with ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc., Rochester City School District's Dept. of PE, Health, and Athletics, and the Office of Parent Engagement's Parent University to offer a FREE virtual (via Zoom) workshop "The Value and Necessity of Play" on March 22 at 4 pm!

In this workshop, we'll talk about how important play is for kids in grades K-12. We'll play games and do activities to learn more about how kids play and how it helps them grow. We'll also share research and ideas for how teachers and parents can encourage more playtime. By the end of the workshop, we'll have some plans for how to make play a bigger part of kids' lives.

Learn more and register today!

Partner Spotlight: ReConnect Rochester and City of Rochester Offer Children's Bike Lessons

Our partners at ReConnect Rochester and the City of Rochester's R Centers are offering free bike riding lessons to children on March 23 and April 20.

Certified bike instructors will help your kids learn how to ride without training wheels, in a safe, indoor space.

The lessons are free but do require registration on R Central to sign up. 

Learn more on the City's website

Upcoming Events and Trainings:

March 2023

• Tuesdays in March: Restorative Practices Parent Training, part of Parent University provided by RCSD Office of Parent Engagement. Learn more. 
• March 21: Suicide Prevention in Rural Communities—A SafeSide Prevention Live, Interactive Workshop What you do matters. How you do it matters more. Learn actionable skills to help safe lives. Register today!
• March 22: Parent Like a Boss Parent LAB Play Day Parent LAB is a nonprofit with the mission to enhance generational literacies through play in underserved African American communities. Using children's literature and physical activity, this workshop will focus on encouraging active play inside and outside of schools. Register today!
• March 23: RCSD Board of Education meeting Join us as we raise awareness on the importance of recess for all RCSD scholars. For additional information and to see past meetings, visit the BOE website.

April 2023

• April 15: Parent LAB: Play as Culturally Sustainable Family Engagement In this workshop, we will reflect and explore how play has connected families across generations, cultures, and economic barriers. We will define culturally sustainable family engagement as the framework for our collaborative discussion and brainstorm. Registration page coming soon!
• April 27: RCSD Board of Education meeting Join us as we raise awareness on the importance of recess for all RCSD scholars. For additional information and to see past meetings, visit the BOE website.

• April 29: Yoga 4 Classrooms Training and Professional Development Learn how integrating simple, developmentally appropriate yoga and mindfulness practices, specifically designed for the time and space crunched classroom (including online classrooms), can be a convenient, engaging and effective way to promote the development of SEL competencies, emotional resilience, positive climate and student success. Registration page coming soon!