Lower School

The lower school emotional intelligence (EQ) program works to promote a school climate that fosters positive inter- and intrapersonal communication in the school, home, and community. Lessons target competencies in self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The activities are based upon literature titles that are interesting and present social issues children can relate to their own experiences.

Instruction is executed in a circle time format. Circle time helps teachers to create a natural peer support group and helps students learn to ask for help. Opportunities are provided to practice skills such as listening, taking turns, sharing feelings, and showing empathy for others.

The emotional intelligence program is divided into thematic units that allow students multiple exposures to one concept all month long. Subsequent months provide new themes. Themes are reexamined each year with a growing level of complexity and more in-depth follow-up activities.

Middle School

Emotional Intelligence is a major component in our middle school advising program, and skills are reinforced in academic classes.

In the middle school advisory program, students take an active role in preparing for the challenges of adolescence. Students work on a number of life skills including showing respect for self and others, communication skills, relationship building, taking responsibility, using conflict resolution techniques to manage conflict, and building and demonstrating self confidence. A variety of hands-on activities such as in-class discussions, role playing, off-campus retreats and service learning events provide opportunities to practice these skills.

Fifth Grade

The focus of the fifth grade advisory program is to provide students with the social and practical skills that they need for a successful middle school experience. Students work individually and in groups to build skills in organization, responsibilities, and peer relationships. The beginning of the year will see students develop a personal plan of success to keep up with their materials and assignments as their responsibilities grow. Students frequently engage in role-play activities that practice positive communication and conflict resolution techniques. Class discussions and journal exercises provide opportunities for students to share their concerns and create solutions.

Sixth Grade

During the 6th grade year, students will continue to work on relationships, responsibilities and communication. Emphasis will be placed on personal choices and how those affect the self and the group as a whole. During advising, students will be encouraged to brainstorm positive solutions to both hypothetical problems and issues they are facing in their peer group or at home. This will also be a time to discuss school progress, relationship dynamics, how friendships change and what to expect in the coming years. Each month a new theme will be introduced in order to expose the students to a broad range of emotional topics and continue to build their self confidence. Over the year, we will be building on what they have learned and discussing what has worked and what has not in real life situations. The girls will finish their year with many tools to help them thrive in the emotionally challenging world.

Seventh Grade

By 7th grade, GSA middle school students have had two years of advisory experience discussing friendship, conflict resolution and personal responsibility. This year, the girls will continue to think about those essential issues, while also beginning to look outward to the world around them. They will evaluate their responsibilities as members of both GSA and the broader community, and explore questions related to justice, empathy and citizenship. In connection with their world geography coursework in social studies, 7th graders will investigate and analyze real-world moral and ethical issues from across the globe and discuss them as a group. In the spring, students will have the opportunity to design and implement a community service project that puts some of the skills they have acquired through middle school advisory to use. By the end of the year, 7th graders will have not only a better understanding of how to deal with the difficult social issues that are a part of adolescence, but also a sense of the increasingly complex issues they may face in high school, college and beyond.

Eighth Grade

8th grade advisory extends students' thinking about their place in the world by asking them to focus on skills and characteristics they would like to develop in themselves. Discussions about leadership, risk taking, and goal setting challenge students to delineate concrete steps they can take towards becoming the women they would like to be. 8th grade advisory also makes time in the school day for some of the practical work of applying to high schools and selecting the best fit from a variety of choices. It is a venue for conversations about the changes our students will face as they graduate to a larger, co-ed environment, and the opportunities for growth ahead of them.