Social Emotional Learning

Building character in a purposeful way has been an integral part of a St. Matthew’s education since its founding in 1949. The School incorporates five core values laid out in the Character Covenant signed by every student: Empathy, Fairness, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility. In addition to these core values, St. Matthew’s has made it a priority to support the healthy social and emotional growth and development of its students. Social-emotional intelligence increases academic performance. When students and teachers learn to recognize, understand and address emotions such as fear, anger, shame, disappointment, frustration, joy, and pride, they can increase a child’s ability to engage in learning and a teacher’s ability to teach. Our School Counselor incorporates foundational emotional intelligence pillars throughout the curriculum at each grade level.

 

Students in Lower School (K-4) are provided with vocabulary and scaling tools to teach them how to identify feelings and give their feelings scale, using devices like a feelings thermometer. Students and teachers also utilize a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Toolbox, a series of twelve foundational skills, to provide a common language for discussion in and out of the classroom. Toolbox skills include breathing, listening, empathy, letting go, apologizing and forgiving, and others. Students learn how to use these tools and practice identifying situations in which they would be helpful. Young students learn to de-escalate conflicts and communicate effectively to achieve positive connections with peers.