Student Voice Leadership Retreat - a teacher's reflection

Below is a post from a teacher who participated in our Student Voice retreat to YMCA Cedar Glen. I am also always surprised by what our students can do. We shouldn't be, because at this point we should realize how great everyone can be when they are given the chance!  PAS staff and students chose to be AWESOME on the retreat and the school is very grateful for everyone's efforts leading up to, during and after the retreat.
_________________________

Well, vice principal has been on my case to write about my thoughts on the 3-day student leadership retreat last week. I must admit I was very neutral going into the retreat: I had concerns about behaviour that were based on prior field trip experiences (yes, a math teacher can have field trips!). I also thought that I would have a fair amount of "free time".

I found myself enjoying the activities (they were well thought out and run very smoothly) and getting to know students that I had never met before. I had about 8 hours to myself, which included an evening shower and a good night's rest! As the only male teacher, I had a room to myself: bonus.

The students were far more mature than I expected. More than anything else, I was impressed by their willingness to get a little out of their comfort zones, and in small groups share their own "back stories".

I started the session with an understanding that the PAS system was a valuable piece of the educational fabric. At the end of the 3 days, I was absolutely certain that the PAS system plays a critical role: I met students who would not be in good health or finishing high school without PAS!

Here's more than 8 words. I was initially going to double the word count every time, but that would have been more work.

Next: I will have to figure out HOW to post this.

Teamwork: Get the Vice Principal to post for you!

WORKING with, not just DEALING with Student Anxiety

Hello Parents, students and teachers,

We recently tweeted about an article regarding working with students who have anxiety. The blog is named Technolandy by Ian Landry. His Twitter handle is @technolandy. The blog post appears here:

http://technolandy.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/day-110-of-184-anxiety-107-a-blunt-approach-to-anxiety/



There are some great points about supporting students who are working through/with anxiety. Some of these points we have copied exactly from the blog. I strongly encourage you to read the entire post.

Ian Landy has suggested:

• Anxious students need to be at And stay on school. 
• Establish a schedule and stick with it - a target with an immediate feedback loop. 
• Being at school does not always mean being in the classroom. They may need a safe person, place or time. 
• Being in the classroom does not mean doing work. Time needs to be spent building relationships with others. 
• Eventually, we will need to push. There is a fine balancing act between providing support and enabling the anxiety. 
• Anxious kids are smart. 
• General Anxiety has ‘unclear triggers’ where the ‘starting’ point can be very difficult to identify. We won't 'grow' out of it, without help and support. 
• Schools can help with educational matters and being caring and compassionate. However, we are not thearpy. We cannot provide that kind of support. 
• Anxiety needs to be countered using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) – often requiring a counsellor who uses this approach. We can help direct towards this type of support. 
• Stick with the thearpy/medicine plan even when it sucks. It will get better. 
• Expect ‘self-soothing’ strategies to annoy you, remember it's not about us. It's about them. 
• We have to be and remain calm when they cannot be. 
• Others will be critical, this is not a quick fix. Stick with it. 
• Communication is key. Especially between the adults. Back and forth books. Emails. Assessments. No secrets. 
• Anxiety is very different in each person – don’t ignore it & don’t think there is ‘one’ plan.

Let's work together to support our students.

Please read the the entire blog post from Ian, found at:

http://technolandy.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/day-110-of-184-anxiety-107-a-blunt-approach-to-anxiety/

Parents' Night - November 20

Come on out to the school on Thursday,  November 20 from 6-7.  Meet your child's teacher and lets talk about how we can support them at school and home.  Lets build our connections so we can all share in the amazing things your child and our student can do.

Call the school for more details. 905.278.3396

What Did I Learn today?

Let me briefly introduce myself, my name is Greg Pearson and I am the new vice principal at PAS South.  Please come into the school and have a chat with me.  If you are on twitter you can follow the school at @PAS_South or you can follow me @vptechnodork.  May this just be the beginning of our communication together.

This is a cross post that also appears on http://peel21st184.wordpress.com/.  The goal of this project is  share our stories and promote 21st Century learning. The goal is to have as many of our voices heard from students, teachers, administrators, superintendents, Educational Resource Facilitators, Early Childhood Educators, parents and any key players in our schools.

What did I learn today?

Every day that I get to work with students, I learn how incredibly resilient our students can be.  

Today, I was reminded of this as I was with my family at Canada’s Wonderland.  As my car was heading out on the Leviathan, I thought I had heard my name called.  I asked the person I was with if he had heard my name being called and he said that was just my nerves talking. 

https://www.canadaswonderland.com/images/rides/Leviathan-image-3.jpg

After my 3 minute ride we pulled back into the station and once again the announcer was talking and at the end of his announcement he said, “ and Mr. Pearson, I hope you enjoyed your ride!”  This time I know it wasn’t my nerves talking, I looked into the booth and there was a former student, smiling behind the glass at me.  We had a brief moment to catch up.  He is now training to be in the military working on jet engines.  A goal he had stated to me 4 years previous.  A remarkable accomplishment for him, as I look back and consider what this student did to get to where he is today.

My memory might be fading at this point, but here is the long and short what he had to overcome: multiple school changes, over an hour and a half bus ride to come to school, multiple suspensions, multiple issues with teachers, multiple issues with me and multiple issues within himself.

In my three years with this student, we took the time to get to know each other when times were good and we built that relationship where he still felt safe when times were not so good; when he need to be cooled down, or even sent home.  He knew he could come back and that he would be held accountable for what had happened.  We took the time to work through his mistakes together, it is what he needed, and really what all students need.  Together we created a relationship where he felt comfortable to learn from his missteps, to reflect on what had happened.  He learned to never give up, he learned that failing was okay.  Most importantly, he learned that he had someone that he could lean on and trust.  I also have to say that he taught me so much as we went through his time in high school.

This student came to believe in himself, that he could grow both academically and personally and this is what helped him overcome the obstacles life presented him.  This strength or mindset is what will see him through to his goals. He believed that he was not fixed in the die that life had cast for him.

Today, I was reminded that the amazing students we work with can:

Inspire.

Greatness.

Together.

It’s funny that I remembered all of this after a roller-coaster ride of up’s and down’s, much like life can present us with.