Author: Edward Joseph Goldstein,

Positive emotion is much more than mere ‘happiness‘. Positive emotions include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude. Positive emotions are a prime indicator of flourishing, and they can be cultivated or learned to improve wellbeing -Fredrickson This quote really resonated this week as the PDL got started in earnest with their work. As we planned for lessons around positive emotions I could not help but reflect on all the ways in which SSIS embraces this with students and staff alike. The aspects of positive emotions have been demonstrated through events like Family Fun Day, where amusement and joy were...

“Life is all about balance. You don’t always need to be getting stuff done. Sometimes its perfectly ok and absolutely necessary, to shut down, kick back, and do nothing.” Lori Deschene I hope you all had an opportunity to do nothing. Last week our students were plenty busy but in library they had a chance to enjoy smores in their tents while reading great books. Creating moments for student to have a love of reading takes many forms and this is by far one of the most creative forms. Be sure to ask your students what they are reading. Weekly...

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” -Walt Disney The start of our Super Units is a special moment when students and teachers move from the talking to the doing. There has been excitement all week about these launches. All the students have been eagerly anticipating these launches. Whether you launched last week or will launch this week or next, please know your hard work has not gone unnoticed. This week brings us to a long short week. We have a week worth of work in three days and then a well deserved break. When...

“Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity.” – Kathy Williams Both of these photo’s represent this quote so well. The little ones exploring with paint without a care about messiness or “getting dirty” truly represents childhood. The parents at curriculum night were equally excited about being back in school. Coming to class for curriculum night was not something they had to do this year, it was something they wanted to do this year. It went from being an obstacle to being an opportunity. And all of you...