How TMS is Developing a WELL-BEING MINDSET

Maria Montessori was an innovator and forward thinker. One of her key points was, “We must orient the child to his/her place and time.” The pedagogy that she created over 100 years ago in its understanding of the developmental stages of children and their innate qualities has not changed. What has changed is the increased external and societal influences on our children.

The connection between Montessori and IB is very clearly articulated in our practice of creating a community of collaboration and ensuring we support the pursuit of academics through a lens of inquiry. From Toddler to Grade 12, classroom environments are created where leadership can flourish and where students can share strengths, identify challenges, and learn from one another through the cultivation of compassion and empathy.

One of our key learnings post pandemic is that while we have always paid great attention to the academic side of the learning journey, the social and emotional health of our students is equally important to their ability to build resilience, develop coping skills and connect to their feelings – or “feel the feels” as we say in the Elementary program. Academically, we can advance students while supporting their cognitive development through collaborative activities and an enhanced social emotional curriculum. In short, we are creating well-being programs that ensure our students feel good and function well in their lives. These programs include guidance support, access to advisors or transition leads (Grade 6 to 7), specifically designed curricular programs, and clubs, sports teams and co-curricular groups.

The mission of any guidance program is to support and foster students’ well-being and growth in three areas: personal (student development), interpersonal development, and academic/career development. A guidance program allows students a safe and secure place to address any academic concerns, social issues, or emotional needs.

TMS was one of the first independent schools to develop an Elementary guidance program, something usually associated with a middle or high school. The vision for the program is “to nurture and develop the growth of confident, independent and innovative learners who cultivate leadership through hard work, empathy and the development of creative, critical and collaborative thinking skills.” Perry Enyedi, who joined TMS this year, has started to see some powerful results with students who seek him out for time to talk, share their feelings, and explore solutions to challenging social issues. The Elementary teachers see guidance as a partner in the classroom to support the learning needs of all students. Perry said, “over the past few months, I have met with students presenting with a range of issues from academic to self-esteem to stress management and social acceptance as well as needing to respect boundaries, and address conflict.”

A recent change that supports this foundational work is the grouping of Grade 6 students together in a 1-year split. This acknowledges that the Grade 6s are closer to adolescence and are starting to experience very different social and emotional needs. As a result, Grade 6s have the chance to delve deeper into social issues and topics that are often too mature for younger students (when we had Grade 4-6s in the same class). Rachel Marks, Head of Elementary says, “this change allows for the expansion of social groups, a key need for this age, and encourages social relationships to form more naturally and flourish more easily. The change has increased our ability to curate leadership opportunities such as our

Student Council and Student Ambassadors, which is fundamental to a successful move from Grade 6 to 7. With increased confidence in their leadership skills, the students can focus on the cultivation of their growing need to be independent.” She goes on to add, “the work we do in developing a guidance program to address the social and emotional needs of our Elementary students helps to build a strong foundation for the Upper School.”

Sense of meaning and purpose

Deeper-level connection

Living the good and authentic life

Sustainable impact

Well-Being

Achieving goals

Maximizing potential

Inner joy

Optimism

Positive emotions

Con dence

Growth mindset

Engagement

Relationship

Self-regulation

Resilience

Perseverance

Healthy routines

TMS knows the value of ensuring a healthy continuum of support between the Lower and Upper Schools so we have created a framework of transition leaders at both campuses to ensure our Grade 6 and 7 faculty share information, effective tools and resources so students continue to access the same care and support regardless of the campus. At the Upper School, students start to connect with a guidance counsellor in Grade 7. That counsellor is well versed in the needs of 12 and 13 year old students and helps to ensure that the transition goes well. Our Upper School guidance counsellors know that conversations about selecting DP courses, exploring university programs, and undertaking the Pillars requirements are not successful without the foundation of students developing key competencies like independence, self-understanding, confidence, collaboration and leadership skills.

Mark Bunten, one of our Upper School guidance counsellors, talks about some of the ways we are building a well-being mindset for our students in Grades 7-12. “We undertake periodic well-being surveys to assess how students are feeling and options to support them. That way, we are tailoring the programs and solutions to meet their specific needs. For example, our Grade 11 and 12 students have planned time with Guidance on PostSecondary Planning, Stress Management, and Life Skills and we ensure our Grade 7 and 8 students benefit from the Social-Emotional and Ethical Guidance Curriculum. We are also very mindful of our commitment to diversity, ensuring the social-emotional needs of all students are met. To that end we support our Student Gay-Straight Alliance focused on Identity and Well-Being.”

All Upper School students are part of an advisory group from Grade 7 to 12. Within this group, students build a community in a number of ways: celebrating birthdays, holidays, milestones; collectively supporting a cause such as the World Wildlife Fund; and going on excursions together. From a wellbeing perspective, advisory groups talk about difficult topics together, support one another through the assignment calendar, and create potlucks, gift exchanges, and sharing activities that allow them to grow closer and bond as a group. From Day 1, all TMS Upper School students are placed in a house – Atlas, Helios, Phoebe, and Tethys. While the House System is competitive, it also fosters relationships through building a house culture.

Clubs and sports teams are a big part of life at both campuses, with students enjoying activities that cater to their interests. As a result, students can meet and connect with like-minded artists, athletes, social innovators or debaters. Once students are able to commit to a club or make it onto a team they enjoy, they build relationships across classes and grades to accomplish goals together.

While we are still in the relatively early stages of building a mindset of well-being for our students, we know we are taking the right approach to creating a healthy, safe and empowering learning journey.