Winchester Thurston School – Benefit 2015: Pure Imagination
Auction Ends: Mar 5, 2015 10:00 PM EST

Fund-A-Need

FUND A NEED: Middle School Social Learning for One Advisory Group

Item Number
428
Estimated Value
1000 USD
Buy Now Price
1000 USD
Quantity Available
0
Sold
0

Item Description

Shifting social dynamics. Self-identity. Establishing independence. Middle school students have a lot on their minds…even before academics enter the picture. How can we support students grappling with these issues and create an environment that promotes their best learning? Enter Origins Developmental Designs, a new program in the Middle School that integrate social and academic learning.

Picking up where the Lower School’s Responsive Classroom leaves off, Developmental Designs is most noticeable in mixed-grade level advisory meetings, where the Circle of Power and Respect (CPR) framework reigns. Based on democratic, group-centered principals, CPR features Greeting, Sharing, Activity, and Daily News--elements that address the young adolescent needs of autonomy, competence, relationship, and fun. Prompts guide discussions, and lessons are built around topics like bullying, building community, study skills, conflict, and diversity. Teachers and students are also encouraged to share something about themselves. Because the environment is fun, secure, and respectful, students feel connected, heard, empowered, and safe--qualities fostering academic engagement.

Developmental Designs works hand-in-hand with the Mission Skills Assessment (MSA), now in its second year in the Middle School. The MSA measures proficiency in critical life skills--creativity, ethics, curiosity, resilience, teamwork, and time management--long taught in WT classrooms; now, the new advisory structure provides scheduled time to do focused work on those skills.

Support your student’s entire Advisory Group in the Mission Skills Assessment and Origins Developmental Designs: $1,000

Item Special Note

This Fund-a-Need may be paid in 4 installments between now and June 30, 2015. After you buy it, you will be contacted by the WT Advancement Office to provide your payment preferences.

Fund-a-Needs are programs at WT, taken directly from the operating budget and capital campaign, that make WT an enriching experience. Your support of our teachers’ ideas and innovations provide daily inspiration for our students.