Mindfulness Programs

Several weeks ago, our class welcomed Mrs. Joanna Curry-Sartori to our school.  Mrs. Sartori is a family counselor at The Bridge Family Center in Avon.  The Bridge is working with Avon Public Schools, and Mrs. Sartori visits all the fourth grade classes at PGS (and several others) twice each week to teach the children about mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the idea of being aware of what’s happening within you and around you at a given moment.  She comes to our class to teach the kids different exercises that they can use to regain their calmness when stressed, maintain their focus when at ease, and sense how they’re actually feeling at a given moment.  Her work fits in so well with our character education goals.  This week, to help the kids prepare before SBAC testing, Mrs. Sartori kindly recorded a few short mindfulness videos to help the kids “get ready” and remain at ease for the often stressful testing experience.  I know this may sound a little hokey, but you’ll have to trust me on this: I see the IMMEDIATE and LASTING impact that the exercises have on the class.  When our room gets loud or stressful, a short break to regain our footing can change the course of the day.

Mrs. Sartori is offering two free programs at Avon Free Public Library over the next few weeks.  One is TONIGHT at 6:30pm.  (I’m so sorry for the late notice on this.  That’s entirely my fault!)  The other is on May 5.  See the information below:

Posted in Class Updates|By Jon Moss