SLL Monthly Newsletter

This month we kick off our fourth unit, "Communicating Effectively with Each Other":

• February 2 - 6: Listening Attentively & Making Conversation (Relationship Skills)- One way to establish and maintain relationships is to participate in balanced conversations that include attentive listening and clear communication.

• February 9 - 13: Working Together as a Team (Relationship Skills) - Collaborating with others means working together as a team. Listening to one another, making decisions together, taking turns, including everyone, helping each other, and encouraging one another are some of the skills that will help us communicate and collaborate.
• February 16 - 20: Random Acts of Kindness Week/Review Week - Use this Review Week to reteach any themes that are relevant for your students.
• February 23 - 27: Communicating Assertively (Relationship Skills)- There are three types of communication styles: passive, assertive, and aggressive. When we communicate assertively, we show respect and stand up for ourselves and others.

SDPBC educators can find lessons and resources to support these SLL Themes on our SLL Resource Center under the "Elementary", "Middle School", and "High School" tab. To access the SLL Resource Center, log in to your District portal and search "SLL". Click on the SLL Heart Tile.

Unit 4 SLL Extension Ideas

Here is a menu of options of possible ways to extend SLL themes that are being explicitly taught from Unit 4 throughout the school day so students have the opportunity to apply and/or reflect on these skills. Please keep in mind that this list is not grade level specific so it is important that you select ideas (or adapt ideas) that are developmentally appropriate and align to your grade level standards and expectations.

Sentence Stems to Help Meaningful Conversation

Teach, model, prompt, and reinforce different types of conversation stems that can be used to enhance conversation.

Unit 4 Family & Caregiver Letter for Elementary

The letters below were designed to support schools with communicating about our SLL themes from Unit 4 with families and caregivers. The letter provides families and caregivers with information about the themes that are being addressed in this unit. Then, for each theme, it provides possible ideas for discussion questions and family activities to reinforce these life skills at home.

• English Letter
  
• Spanish Letter
  
• Haitian Creole Letter
  
• Portuguese Letter

Unit 4 High School SLL Ideas

These daily prompts and activities reinforce the SLL Essential Idea for Unit 4: Communicating Effectively with Each Other. These activities can be used as Welcoming Rituals, Engaging Practices, and/or Optimistic Closures in High School. For explicit lessons to support Unit 4's themes, check out the "High School" tab on our SLL Resource Center.

• The Art of Active Listening Video (Harvard Business Review Guide)
• How to Communicate Clearly and Concisely Video (Communication Coach Alex Lyon)
• 8 Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills (Harvard University)
• Adult and Community Education Resources - Our District's Adult Education department has so many opportunities for lifelong learning with job training and fun/leisure classes. They offer so many courses for adults from learning English, citizenship classes, job training (construction, healthcare, solar technology, etc.), and leisure activities (arts & crafts, cooking, dance, gardening, etc.)

Kindness improves our quality of life. Showing kindness to others is just as rewarding as receiving it from someone else. We encourage you to take part in random acts of kindness and share on your school's social media outlet to encourage others to take part! Some examples may include, but are not limited to, sharing about:

• Something kind that someone did for you
• Something kind that you saw someone do for someone else
• Something kind that you did for yourself (Self care is part of being kind to yourself.)

Are you looking for some ideas? Then check out this resource: Acts of Kindness Ideas for Adults

Pink Shirt Day is an annual event that raises awareness and funds for anti-bullying initiatives. The goal of the day is to create a more inclusive and kinder world.

Pink Shirt Day began in 2007 when a 9th grade boy wore a pink shirt on the first day of school and was bullied for wearing it. Two senior boys in the school noticed and decided to take a stand. They emailed everyone they knew encouraging them to wear a pink shirt to school the next day. The boys bought pink shirts and distributed them to students at school. The second day of school was a “sea of pink” with students standing up for the boy who had been bullied. The idea has grown and last year people in over 180 countries participated in Pink Shirt Day. Generally, Pink Shirt Day is recognized on the last Wednesday of February. Click on the link to hear one of the founders, Travis Price, talk about creating Pink Shirt Day.

Here are some ways to get involved with Pink Shirt Day:

• Wear a pink shirt: Wear a pink shirt and go out in public on Pink Shirt Day to promote anti-bullying.

• Encourage your friends and family to wear pink on Pink Shirt Day.

• Post a picture of yourself wearing your pink shirt on social media.

The Resiliency Palm Beach Instruction Guide can be used in conjunction with the Scope & Sequence to reinforce weekly resiliency characteristics. This guide includes morning announcements, extension activities, and recognition resources to honor students who demonstrate resiliency.

Separate guides are available for Elementary and Secondary, along with certificates and images in the Resiliency Palm Beach certificates folder:

• FY26 Elementary Resiliency Palm Beach Instruction Guide
• FY26 Secondary Resiliency Palm Beach Instruction Guide
• Resiliency Palm Beach Certificates

Schools are encouraged to send home the Resiliency Florida's resources linked below to families and caregivers to support this month's Resiliency Characteristics: Perseverance

Perseverance Parent Resources:

• K-2 Parent Resource
• 3-5 Parent Resource
• 6-8 Parent Resource
• 9-12 Parent Resource