Dear Bolinas Stinson Families and Community Partners,
I would like to invite you to participate in an important upcoming event. We will be hosting the first BSUSD Virtual World Cafe on Friday, March 26, 1:00-3:00 PM. The purpose of the World Cafe is to bring all stakeholders in the Bolinas Stinson School community together, to share their desires for our students, their concerns, and thoughts about how to overcome obstacles as we realize these aspirations for our school.
The World Cafe Method has been used for over 25 years worldwide by communities to constructively dialogue about important topics. We will be working in breakout groups that consist of students, parents, teachers, classified staff, admin, board members, and community members. Groups will be carefully constructed to have representatives from each stakeholder group. During this virtual gathering we will be focusing on addressing the following critical questions that impact our school:
What are your ideas for the desired student profile that you would like the school to work toward? What are the qualities that you want our students to acquire for a happy and successful adulthood?
What are the challenges that the school faces in reaching this profile of the desired student?
What are your ideas for addressing these challenges? And what are you willing to do to support the school in achieving the desired outcomes?
With our return to in-person learning, it is critical that we build a strong foundation that supports the social emotional well being of our school community. For this reason, our school is partnering with Awakening Wisdom, a school culture approach based on Ho’āla, which is Hawai’ian for “awakening of the self.” Their focus is to support adults and students in the authentic growth of self-wisdom and social emotional skills for well-being and enhanced learning.
Awakening Wisdom’s approach begins with what human beings need to flourish: belonging through trusting relationships and autonomy through voice and choice. With this foundation, Awakening Wisdom invites and guides both adult and student learners to shift their mindsets to engage them in creating a healthy space for all. This shift in mindsets is guided by the core living values of Awakening Wisdom:
RESPONSIBILITY – The willingness to see oneself as cause, instead of victim.
RESPECT – Honoring the decision making of self and others.
RESOURCEFULNESS – Being open to seeing possibilities for effective action.
RESPONSIVENESS – Acting with compassion for the good of the whole.
Participating in the BSUSD World Cafe is the first step for our school community as we work towards making our shared goals and vision a reality. I hope you are able to participate in this important event. Please RSVP to me by March 19th if you are interested in participating.
Warmly,
Michelle Stephens