Fourth grader Nicolette Miranda.
The Ventnor Elementary School is spreading the word about the importance of social emotional learning during its second annual International SEL Day celebration Friday, March 26.
For the two weeks leading up to SEL Day, March 15- 26, students and staff will participate in a gratitude and kindness campaign through the Look for the Good Project," which encourages families and the community to participate.
There are five core competencies of Social Emotional Learning: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationship skills.
According to School Counselor Jenna DeMauro, gratitude helps you have a more positive attitude, builds better relationships with friends and family and increases intelligence.
Studies show that people who practice gratitude are happier, more successful, and have a more confident outlook on their future, she said in a release.
Fourth grader Oliver Prajzner, with classmate Alexandria Buck in the background.
The four components of the Look for the Good Project will have students stepping on Gratitude Spots located on the hallway floors where they can think about something for which they are grateful. They will make You Matter Cards, which will turn their feelings of gratitude into kindness toward others. They will also post daily, sticky notes on a Gratitude Wall where students will say what they are thankful for. And lastly, they will write a You Matter letter and read it to the person who matters to them most.
Components of the campaign have been adapted to in-person and fully-remote learning so students and families can participate in Look for the Good activities at home.
In lieu of a kickoff assembly, Look for the Good student leaders created a kickoff video they will share with the school community. Student leaders will also share in-school and online virtual morning announcements to prompt a daily gratitude note for the classroom gratitude wall or virtual gratitude wall on padlet at https://padlet.com/jdimauro2/VentnorGratitudeWall.
Fourth grader Briella Johnson.
Student leaders in second through fourth grades were selected by their teachers to assist DeMauro, who was nominated as a Look for the Good Educator HERO, during the two-week project. They have already made posters to promote gratitude, participated in the kick-off video, encouraged their classmates and families to participate, and created videos for the morning announcements.
The initiative is one of many character education programs put into place that increase the students' social emotional learning, and positively impact school climate.
View the Look for the Good Project video on the district website www.veccnj.org.
Learn more at lookforthegoodproject.org.
Ventnor Elementary School will be celebrating "Look for the Good," this week and next.
