Welcome to the 2022 - 2023 school year! We as a staff are excited for the beginning of another exciting year here at Jessie Wowk and all of the adventures that await everyone in our school community.

We left off last year discussing as a staff all that we noticed and wondered about when it came to the data we had gathered from our students. For our first professional development day, our Professional Development Committee felt it would be a nice fit to check in with the staff to see what we were noticing among our students since we arrived back to school in early September. As a staff we still feel it is important to continue in our journey in learning more about how we can best support our learners in their Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Some time to share our observations was time well spent as we prepare for where to go next in our professional development.

Some of the strengths that the staff were noticing right away are captured in the attached screenshots from a padlet where we shared our ideas. Some ideas shared included staff noticing that our students appeared to be happy to be back at school and that there seemed to be a buzz of excitement with the lifting of many Covid related restrictions that we have needed to follow closely for the last few years. There also was mention of new connections and friendships forming and that the students were able to quickly pick up and carry in following past routines and expectations. Our staff also noticed some stretches, including some observations that it appeared that it was taking some time for new students to make connections and that there still seems to be some reluctance for many of our learners to self - advocate and ask for help with learning concepts that they find challenging.

Overall, the information and observations shared on this day by staff help shape where we go as we continue to focus on the health and well being of our learners through a continued focus on Social Emotional Learning.