Student safety and well-being continue to be a priority at WAB, and our community is learning and growing with the guidance of the Keeping Safe Curriculum.
Throughout the year, the units will focus on teaching on personal safety, building relationships, decision-making, healthy living, and more. WAB faculty members are trained to deliver the curriculum in age-appropriate ways, working in a unified effort across all school sections, as well as regular workshops with parents.
In the High School, Head of Student Well-being Lis Wilson has led the program’s rollout alongside the grade level leaders, a specialist health team, and counselors.
“I am hoping that this program will give students the skills, language, and confidence to look after themselves and their friends as they move beyond high school,” Lis said. “Being a mentor myself, it’s been nice to have some group activities for the students to participate in. You see the thinking as they listen to the discussion and ideas from others in the groups.”
In the Elementary School, students are focused on safety and “the right to be safe.” Depending on their age, students practiced identifying feelings, regulating their emotions, and developing assertive language skills like, "Stop! I don't like that!" Students in the upper elementary grades also explored themes related to safe and unsafe risk-taking. The next focus area guides students through concepts of healthy, respectful relationships with peers and adults.
“One of the best parts of this job is when I overhear hallway conversations between students where they're using the skills they've learned, like identifying their feelings and expressing a need for a calming space,” Ginger Harper, WAB Elementary School’s Social Emotional Learning Coach, said.
Students in the Middle School learned about self awareness for six weeks and are now starting to learn about social awareness. There are elements of Keeping Safe Curriculum included like awareness of your emotions and feelings, recognizing diversity and perspectives of others.
“Students are beginning to have common language around how they feel and how others may feel,” Middle School Counselor Regina Wehner said. “That is a strong foundation to learn important skills like problem solving skills, who to talk to for support, and learning boundaries.”
This is WAB’s first year delivering the curriculum, and it will continue to develop how we work with students and parents to maximize its impact. WAB’s Head of Student Support Rovanna Bawden is coordinating the curriculum implementation across the school and working with each of the school sections to arrange community workshops.
“After attending all three school sessions ES, MS and HS there seems to be an interesting “buzz” in the air about the potential of KeepSafe discussions at the family dining table,” Rovanna said. “Our Keep Safe team was able to deliver really useful age-appropriate strategies for parents to trial at home around the topics of personal safety and self awareness of being safe both online and in the community.”
Keep an eye out in future WAB communications for invitations to our upcoming Keeping Safe events.