Starting a New Year

Our first visit with Monday’s cohort was warmly welcomed! We began by reintroducing ourselves and building connections with our new students. Each student was encouraged to create an “About Me” poster that described him/herself. This activity was a great way to break the ice as both coaches and students were given the opportunity to learn about one another. We also named our classroom mascot — a stuffed monkey we named Billy — and passed him around as speakers volunteered to share unique qualities they were proud of about themselves. This induced a self-affirming environment that welcomed active contributions. Despite initial hesitation, almost all of our classroom soon had something personal to share. Even though we had several nonverbal students, the class was highly eager to participate and engage with each other.