Dear Morningside Center Friends,

October is almost here and today you'll find more activities to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, information on our upcoming workshop series, and more!

In case you missed it, we have a virtual workshop for school leaders coming up on September 30th - you can still register for Building & Being in Community: A Workshop for School Leaders.

Next Week: Exploring the Range of Emotions

October 8th, 3-4:30pm EDT

In this workshop, we look closely at big, more intense emotions; how to navigate them ourselves; and how to support ourselves and those we care for. We spend time exploring a range of feelings, including anger, and working together on developing facility with several powerful and practical strategies for dealing with “big” emotions in ways that further connection and care. Each of these strategies can be proactively taught, practiced, modeled, and delivered without value judgments on the feelings themselves.

TeachableMoment Lessons for Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15 in the United States - here are some lessons you can use in your classroom during the month, or anytime!

Celebrating Latinx & Hispanic Everyday Resilience & Joy 

In honor of the courageous corazones who have left behind everything they know in the unpredictable search for a chance to survive and THRIVE, we ask: In times of crisis and desperation, how can one find joy? 

Latinx? Hispanic? Exploring Identity through Art

Students experience how a range of Latinx illustrators touch on language, identity, and self-expression through their comics – including an exploration of the meaning and significance of terms such as Latinx, Hispanic, Latino, and Latina.

Hispanic Heritage: Culture Community Gallery

Students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by uplifting - and making a gallery of - all things Hispanic in our lives.

What We're Reading

New York state high schools train teens in mental health first aid

"High schools across New York state are training students on how to support their peers in crisis, as rates of teen anxiety, depression, and suicide continue to climb across the country." By Anika Nayak at Chalkbeat

Helping kids learn how their brains work

"What if improving children’s mental health — and life outcomes — could be done by teaching kids how their brains work?" By Jackie Mader at the Hechinger Report

NYC’s high rate of chronic absenteeism: 1 in 3 students missed 10% of school year

"One in three New York City public school students was chronically absent last school year, which is defined as missing at least 10% of school days, according to statistics released Wednesday." By Alex Zimmerman at Chalkbeat

More Upcoming Events

Join us for our Fall Four Workshop Series this October!

• Exploring the Range of Emotions (10/8)
• Understanding the Adolescent Brain (10/15)
• Introduction to Culturally Affirming Social and Emotional Learning (10/22)
• Meeting The Moment: Making Space for Difficult Conversations (10/29) 
• Fall Four Workshop Series (Wednesdays, 10/8-10/29) A series of four 90-minute workshops exploring emotions, the adolescent brain, culturally affirming SEL, and meeting this moment! Attend all four workshops at a 30% discount!

If you would like to join but the dates and times don't necessarily work for you, please fill out this survey to help us schedule future workshops.

Teach for Climate Justice Fall Study Group (Virtual)

Kick off the school year with a 6-week exploration of climate justice principles in K-12 education. 

The study group will meet for 6 consecutive weekly sessions from October 8th - November 12th. 

Get more information & apply!

“There's trust earlier in the year, so working through problems happens easier, more quickly, earlier in the year...It changes the whole community in the classroom.” 

— Molly Heekin, talking about The 4Rs