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Introduction
Arts
Library
Technology
Athletics
Community Service
Social Competency
After School
Sharing & Enrichment
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| Building a Socially Competent Community
Once or twice a week, teachers and students move their chairs into a circle in
the classroom. An extra chair is included to welcome anyone from outside the
class who might choose to join in. Because of this extra chair and the inclusiveness
it signifies, the meeting is called Open Circle.
Originated by the Stone Center of Wellesley College, Open Circle is a social
competency program in which students practice specific skills such as listening,
cooperating, being a responsive and responsible leader, understanding differences,
and problem solving. Orchestrated by teachers and fueled by extensive input from
students, Open Circle (also called Community or Class Meeting) provides a regular,
safe environment for sharing thoughts and feelings and for trying out newly learned
skills. In one meeting, for example, students discover that it is often harder to
receive than to give a compliment.
Belmont Day School periodically offers social competency workshops for parents in
which the parents practice the same skills for cooperation and problem solving as
their children are learning in Open Circle. Participants report the many benefits
of using language and strategies at home that mirror those used in school. They
also say that implementing social competency techniques makes a positive difference
in the quality of their relationships with their children.
We expect our students—and their parents—to carry these skills with them for life.
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