SEL at North Marion Middle School

By Jillian Daley

North Marion Middle School innovates with initiatives centered around positive mental health and citizenship for students, furthering the School District's Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program's purpose. How better to learn how to regulate your emotions than to channel them into your own health and into citizenship, which supports the whole community?

Middle School Principal David Sheldon says that RULER and Sources of Strength dovetail with other steps his school is taking, including offering SEL lessons in each student’s Homeroom Class. 

“Academics are incredibly important, but that notion of mental health before academics has always been a cornerstone of my educational career,” Sheldon says. “How do we maintain hope, find moments of joy, and how do we teach others to do that as well?”

The Middle School is full of joy, maybe because of all the SEL opportunities. For example, the week of Jan. 24 to 28, the Middle School held The Great Kindness Challenge, with each day of the week focusing on a kindness theme: Monday, Gratitude; Tuesday, Inclusion; Wednesday, Random Acts of Kindness; Thursday, Service and Stewardship; Friday, Virtual (Being Kind Online).

“At lunch, we are incorporating a few ‘Kindness" activities,” Middle School Counselor Kelsey Brown says. “On Tuesday, we had ‘Table Talk’ questions to encourage inclusion. On Wednesday, students decorated ‘love rocks,’ and on Thursday and Friday, students were given the opportunity to continue rocks or decorate posters and reflection flowers.”

In addition to all this positivity and progress, Sheldon’s co-leader, Middle School Principal Tami Badinger, has introduced Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) to NMMS. AVID offers elective classes for students seeking to fulfill their full potential using AVID learning strategies, as well as additional support and college and career advantages to not only the whole Middle School, but all North Marion students.

There’s also a Citizenship Class in which sixth-graders delve into SEL.

SEL in the Eyes of Sixth-Graders

Citizenship Class instructs students on how to behave as a caring member of a community. That means showing empathy, respect, compassion, and a desire to include everyone.

One January day in Citizenship Class, Teacher Anneka Millbrooke asked her sixth-grade students to define stewardship. Ben Boswell delivered a swift response.

“Stewardship is, basically, being helpful and keeping stuff carefully,” Ben told the class. Millbrooke smiled, proudly.

The class took a short break from the lesson to reflect on what Citizenship Class means to them, and heartfelt empathy stood out as a theme.

“Give someone a high-five or a hug; they might need a hug because of something that’s going on at home,” James Villarreal Yonally says.

Carlos Vera Martinez focuses on inclusion.

“It’s things that show kindness to everybody else,” Carlos says, “like letting people sit with you.”

Mia Avila agrees that inclusion matters since you don’t want people to feel left out, and she says kindness is critical.

“Complimenting them if they’re having a bad day can make them happy, and then it won’t be so sad,” Mia says.

Her classmate, Aliyah Cha, says that kindness is important, as is demonstrating gratitude.

“I’ve shown gratitude by saying 'good morning' to the teacher and 'thank you' to the lunch ladies, and I give hugs to people when they are feeling down,” Aliyah notes.

Ezra Workman emphasizes kindness paired with listening.

“Always respect others who are talking, and pay attention and look at them,” he says.

Zander Lee simply held up a picture with four words on it that he’d drawn to demonstrate his understanding of both SEL and citizenship: "You matter to everyone.”

How is the School District practicing SEL? How is your child's school, specifically, practicing SEL? Find out:

• SEL at North Marion High School
• SEL at North Marion Middle School
• SEL at North Marion Intermediate School
• SEL at North Marion Primary School

To share a story about the North Marion School District, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.