Torch - Spring 2018

EMOTIONAL Support Emotional awareness from Kindergarten through Grade 12

Senior Kindergarten students Emily Aggarwal and Mia Tang are proud of their work on display in the Feelings Gallery.

T he Kindergarten classrooms at Havergal are busy, but in talking to Senior Kindergarten teachers Usha Shanmugathasan, Melissa Hickey and Michael Webb, you realize it’s a place of balance and order, too. At the far end, there’s a busy makerspace, where girls enthusiastically turn cardboard boxes into everything from vehicles to clothing. Adjacent, there’s a cool art studio, where students trace princesses and unicorns from intricate templates using iPads hooked to video cameras. At the opposite side of the room is the Peace Corner. That’s where a girl can self-select to go if she’s feeling sad or just out of sorts, to hug the furry Peace Bear or read a book or

students recognize their own emotional journeys through the day.

just hang out with a friend. And the Peace Corner faces a sandbox, where she can return if she’s feeling more energetic. Around you can go, through the various zones that suit different moods and ambitions. Emily Aggarwal and Mia Tang are two Senior Kindergarteners who helpfully walk visitors not only through their space, but also through the curriculum. First up for show and tell is a set of bowls with bottoms coloured to represent different emotions. Since the start of the school year, each of the 17 kindergarteners has put a rock labelled with her name into the bowl that represents her feelings, from happy to angry to confused to silly. The bowls help their teachers get to know them and help

Tang brings a folder with stories on turtles, and it is clear that one of her talents is writing. She knows to bring out that book as an example of something that makes her feel happy and proud. Aggarwal, in turn, is pleased to show visitors an art project that she and her peers created called the Feelings Gallery. Aggarwal’s drawing features an energetic circle on one side and purple, red and hints of yellow peeking through. All of these activities and the accompanying discussions flow from a learning unit on emotional self-regulation where students

TABLE OF CONTENTS | SPRING 2018 • TORCH 19