A SEL (Social Emotional Literacy) luncheon activity was conducted in the Jericho Middle School Library for seventh and eighth grade students and the special guest of honor of their choice.

• During a pre-activity meeting, the students created a placeholder for their guest. These place holders included the SEL themes demonstrated by the guest of honor.
• Mr. Donald Gately and Ms Elisa Weidenbaum provided the parents with an overview of Social Emotional Learning and explained how Social Emotional Learning is integrated in the Jericho Middle School.
• Ms Beth Brill, Ms Casey Gallagher, and Ms Joanne Verdino explained how SEL is incorporated in into all curriculum areas of the Jericho Middle School, the Quality Circles that take place during lunch periods, and the BRAVE program.
• Ms Elisa Weidenbaum did a fantastic job facilitating all the SEL activities during the luncheon.
  

SEL Activities

The first activity that Ms Weidenbaum conducted yesterday was called Animal Groups or Barnyard Animals. Everyone was given a picture of an animal and with their eyes closed, they had to find the other members of their animal group. There were 12 dogs, 6 cats and only 2 birds. What a scene! Everyone was barking, meowing, and you could just barely make out the “tweet-tweet” of the birds. Once they were in their groups, we discussed how this activity fits into discussions of diversity. Participants were then asked to show their animal picture to the other members of their group and they were surprised to see how diverse their group was under the umbrella of being a dog, cat or bird.

The second activity was called Cross the Line. Often groups appear more homogeneous than they really are. The goal of Cross the Line is to increase awareness of differences in the group and make individuals aware of their own issues and experiences.

*A note about Ms Weidenbaum

• Ms Weidenbaum co-advises the GSA: Gay-Straight Alliance club and Diversity Club for students.
  For teachers, Ms Weidenbaum provides two in-service training courses:
  • S.E.E.D. (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) which helps teachers create more gender-fair, multicultural, international, and inclusive curriculum through reflection on their own experiences with multiculturalism and diversity. At this point about 60 teachers district-wide have taken this course.
  • Focusing on the Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students, Their Families and Staff. At this point about 90 teachers district-wide have taken this course.
• Ms Weidenbaum has also presented on LGBT Issues in Education at faculty meetings in each of the elementary schools and provides training on gender-equity and LGBT issues in sports to the coaches.