By Eric Burnett
After an engaging, somewhat silly, intentionally interactive (and just a tad bit hectic) first week, our Middle School community started this second week settling into the schedule rhythm that will guide our learning throughout the year. In addition to the support provided through our diverse catalog of courses, this year the MS will be using ISB’s Culture of Care framework (Being Cared For, Caring for Self, Caring for Others, Caring for the World) to guide and ground our student interactions.
Starting off each day, students meet with their Advisory classrooms and bring the Culture of Care tenets to life. Each day of the week has a different purpose. Mondays prioritize students feeling known and cared for, so the conversations focus on what’s happening in each student’s life and what upcoming ISB events might be of interest. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, students learn and discuss their world – the world of their mind, the world of their peers and the actual “world” world. Thursdays are a day of pause, where students make sure their minds, lockers and backpacks are organized and that they can learn to prioritize brain breaks from their often-busy lives. And the weekends with Fun Fridays, where individual classrooms or entire Houses get together to celebrate achievements, engage in some spirited competitions or just have fun, playing games while learning to keep good company with each other.
In each of these meetings, Advisory groups practice different styles of interacting, prioritizing not simply what is being discussed, but how it is being discussed. Time is purposefully protected at the end of each session to reflect on what went well, what didn’t go smoothly and what could be improved. Although in the first quarter the entire Middle School will be moving together through Advisory using shared content and delivery strategies, as the year progresses, individual students and teachers will steadily begin designing their own resources and activities to ensure our community can best care for itself and the world around us.