Social-Emotional Learning
Building positive relationships, managing emotions, and making decisions.
In our Maternelle, social-emotional learning (SEL) takes place everyday, all day long. Intertwined in our curriculum, SEL guides how children learn what it means to be a student in a community of classmates. They develop attention and perseverance; take into account collective instructions; participate in activities, initiatives, and cooperate; and consider the rules of life together.
Beginning in PK4, school counselors lead students in biweekly social-emotional learning activities. Through these practices, students build a toolbox of social-emotional skills, including: self-regulation, such as achieving calm; self- and body- awareness, such as recognizing loudness of voice and personal space in relation to others; problem-solving, through sharing role-play and peace rug activities; kindness; patience; consequences; and more.
During SEL classwork, students interact in deeply meaningful ways with each other, becoming interested in peers and developing trusting relationships. Students feel a part of the classroom, are more comfortable in school, and are building a community.
In Kindergarten classrooms at the Maternelle, and in Lower School and Middle School classrooms, teachers utilize the research-based Responsive Classroom approach, which partners well with social-emotional learning. This approach provides a safe, challenging, and joyful climate for students throughout their years at The International School of San Francisco. All of our students’ needs—academic, social, emotional, and physical—are important and recognized in this approach to teaching and learning.
The techniques used in the classroom are also implemented in the After School Program, ensuring consistency and creating a more cohesive structure and integrated experience for students, teachers, and staff