Grades 5 and Grades 3/4 Parent Evening (Zoom

Exploring the local environment fosters interaction with the community.

Social Health & Discipline Guide

It takes time for children to learn skills that support behaviours for success in learning and sharing social space with others

Understanding Child Development

In a Waldorf School, our work is primarily informed by an understanding of each child’s developmental stages, needs, and individual concepts. In this way, the teacher works with the child’s innate process of learning through imitation and strives to model the behaviours that are worthy of imitation.

The main types of development in terms of milestones are physical, cognitive, language and social/emotional. All are equally important and are rapidly occurring in young children. Children develop at different rates. In the kindergarten we are covering the age range of 3.8 to 6 years.

Examples of Emotional/Social development

3-4 yrs: Better able to control emotions, self-conscious emotions, like shame, guilt, embarrassment, envy. Forms first friendships, ability to play with others improves, Child often can’t distinguish between fantasy and reality, plays role of parent in play, imagines that many unfamiliar images may be monsters.

5-6 yrs: Likes to sing, dance and act, wants to please their friends, more likely to agree to rules, but also demanding, shows more independence, able to distinguish fantasy from reality; better able to read social cues and to interpret, predict and influence others’ emotional reactions.

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It is important to gear discipline and nurturing to fit a child’s developmental level.

Tools that Reinforce Positive Behaviour:

Routine

By developing consistent rhythms and routines around play, snack and outdoor times, transitions become smooth and seamless for the children. Keeping things consistent, through rhythm and repetition, provides a sense of security for the child and prevents negative behaviours.

Structure

Guiding children, with clear expectations and simple rules to follow, prevents conflict. Teachers provide positive reinforcement through their actions and words. When conflict arises, the teacher redirects the child’s attention or remove’s the child from the situation. Teachers provide positive support by staying close to the child, remaining firm, patient, loving and calm. When child’s behaviour is hurtful or too disruptive, the teacher intervenes creatively and lovingly, with a minimal verbal explanation.

What you do: Imitation.

Children are more likely to learn expectations when they see you do it rather than say. Consistent role modeling is essential from both teacher and parent. Praise behaviours that are consistent with expectations and correct behaviours that don’t meet those expectations.

Clear expectations help children understand what they should and shouldn’t do. They provide a framework for positive behaviour.

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Effective Praise:

Praise is nourishment. It helps children grow emotionally. Effective praise is intentional praise to reinforce a child’s behaviour. Praise a child’s behaviour in a way the child can understand it.

Using Consequences to Change Behaviour

A consequence should be important to the child A consequence should be immediate. A consequence should be appropriate in size. A consequence should relate to your child’s behaviour and be at the child’s developmental level.

Teaching Social Skills to Student through Imitation: • Following Instruction • Waiting your turn • Asking permission • Asking for help • Accepting ‘no’ for an answer • Getting someone’s attention • Listening to others • Saying you’re sorry • Showing gratitude

Supporting Children in Managing their Emotions

Teaching a child how to stay calm. Young children have hard time managing their emotions. Children who have many opportunities to learn how to control their emotions by practicing when they are calm have a better chance of knowing what to do when they get upset.

If a child’s behaviour continues to escalate or be unsafe consistently a plan will be coordinated with the parents for home and school.

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Behaviour Management Policy

It is the policy of Waldorf Academy to make every effort to serve all the children and to work collaboratively with parents, staff and various community support systems to meet the individual needs of each child. It is our policy to assist children and parents to make any behaviour changes that are felt by staff, administration and/or outside agencies to be necessary for the health, needs and safety of the child and the other children in the school. Continual attempts will be made to find appropriate solutions to resolve the problems. Support and guidance through this process will be provided by the Teacher, Facilitator and Education

Support/Resource teacher to ensure that parents are actively involved.

In the event that a child is exhibiting behaviours that may pose a direct threat to the safety of the other children or staff, the parent/guardian may be required to withdraw their child for a recommended period time or permanently.

The following procedure will be followed when a child’s behaviour is an issue. 1. Parents/Guardians will be informed of their child’s emotional/social behaviours 2. Support may be requested from the Education Support/Resource teacher (parental consent required).

3. The Educator, Education Support/Resource teacher and parent collaborate to facilitate further evaluation of the child’s needs, to determine the nature and severity of the problem, and appropriate programming is provided. The Director may be requested to attend any meeting or to be part of this collaborative effort.

4. In most cases, the above steps will be sufficient. If not, the following course of action will be followed:

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First Written Notice for a conference to take place. An action plan will be developed so that all parties are consistent with the strategies that need to be put in place. The type of supports needed will be determined at this time.

Second Written Notice may result in a suspension. This will provide more time to hold an in-depth evaluation of the child and to develop a more detailed plan to better support the child in the program. An action plan will be developed in order to plan for the child to return to the program. The plan may include external resources.

Third Written Notice: Should the child’s needs be deemed by the EC Chair and Director to be beyond the expertise of the school staff and Education Support/Resource teacher, recommendation will be made in writing for the parents to withdraw their child and to enroll the child in an alternate facility where his/her needs may be addressed.

5. Whenever possible, the parent/guardian will be given sufficient notice to make alternate arrangements. However, in the event that a child’s individual needs or behaviour pose a serious threat to the safety of other children and staff, the parent may be required to immediately withdraw the child from the school at the Director’s written request.

Withdrawals and Dismissals

Probationary Contracts

During the application procedure, parents/guardians are required to present all relevant information about their child which might affect his/her academic and social experience at

Waldorf Academy including copies of all psychological reports and learning assessments. If a student is accepted and then displays behavioural and/or developmental challenges which

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were known but not disclosed at the time of application, Waldorf Academy reserves the right to dismiss the student from the school.

In the event there is a breach of a policy of Waldorf Academy including, but not limited to, the Accounts Arrears and the student obligations found in the Family Handbook, the student may be dismissed at the School’s sole discretion.

The Withdrawal/Dismissal Policy allows for the following exceptions:

There is a minimum probationary period for all new students: six weeks for kindergarten, lower and middle school. This probationary period may be extended in writing at the discretion of the teachers, education support and the admissions manager. In the event that a student would be asked to leave during the probationary period, the parents/guardians would be responsible for the non-refundable deposit plus a pro-rated amount of the tuition.

A student with physical, intellectual or emotional challenges may be accepted under specified conditions. The admissions manager on behalf of the teachers and education support team will prepare a letter stating the terms of acceptance, which must be signed by the parents/guardians. Failure to satisfy the conditions of acceptance by the student or parents/guardians may result in the student’s dismissal. The parents/guardians will be responsible for the non-refundable deposit plus a pro-rated amount of the tuition fee. If written notice of withdrawal is received before school begins in September the parents/guardians will be responsible for the nonrefundable deposit. If written notice of withdrawal is received by the end of Term 1 the parents/guardians will be responsible for the nonrefundable deposit plus full tuition for the term. If notice of a withdrawal occurs after term 1, the parents/guardians are responsible for the full contract amount.

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