Community Circles

In an effort to create a safe environment in which to take risks and learn about ourselves and others, we sit in circles so that everyone can have an equal say within the group. We can see everyone's face within the group and know that we are all listening to one another and caring about each other's thoughts and feelings. We have been using community circles in the class since the beginning of the school year as a place to discuss classroom expectations of ourselves and one another, activities going on at school and at home, and goals set out for the year, as a class and as individuals.

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to have our community circle lead by Ms. Lewis. She helped us establish clear norms about how we should act when part of the circle. She also helped us to relate most of our ideas back to the Right to Play motto: "Look after yourself. Look after one another."

The students were very receptive and offered many personal thoughts based on questions and statements posed. Ms. Lewis and I will work together to determine the needs of the class and how we can use community circles to further develop the students' understanding of themselves as individuals and as learners.

Please talk to you son and/or daughter about their reflections on community circles, and don't hesitate to ask me for any clarifications.

Take care!