Grade 6 Growth and Development at Valley Park MS

1. Parent Meeting March 23, 2016 Grade 6 Growth and Development at Valley Park MS

2. Health Curriculum

3. Grade 6 Unit Overview • Lesson 1 – Who Am I? • Lesson 2 – The Effects of Stereotypes • Lesson 3 – Building Confidence • Lesson 4 – Healthy Relationships • Lesson 5 – Stress and Pressures in Relationships

4. Who am I? • In Lesson 1 students will identify factors that influence their self-concept and examine what internal and external factors have a positive and negative impact on their self-concept, identity and relationships. • Students will brainstorm all the things that contribute to our self concept – eg. their environment, comments by those who are important to them, awareness of their strengths and weaknesses, social competency, cultural and gender identity, body image, emotional well being, physical abilities etc. • Students will learn about internal (sense of purpose, high expectations of self etc)and external (support from family, safe place to lice etc) protective factors that support our self-concept • Students will identify how othe people can positively or negatively impact a person’s self-concept.

5. The Effects of Stereotypes • In Lesson 2 students identify what it feels like to be excluded and included and examine the formation and impacts of assumptions and stereotypes based on social identities. Students are encouraged to be proud of their own self-concept and respect others who have different identities. • Students will create a mock social media profile highlighting their social identities • Students will examine the feels like to be excluded and included • Students will examine their own assumptions and biases about social groupings • Students will examine the definitions of various components of identity (eg. ageism, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, stereotype etc)

6. Building Confidence • In Lesson 3 students examine the concepts of physical changes, emotional changes and social changes that occur during adolescence. • Students examine situations that demonstrate the social changes at occur in adolescence. • Students look a the emotional changes faced in adolescence. • Students examine the physical changes experienced in adolescence

7. Healthy Relationships • In Lesson 4 students examine a variety of types of relationships (eg. friends, family, employer, dating/romantic) • Students identify the attributes of healthy relationships (honest communication, respect etc.), warning behaviors (eg. your friend tries to control you) and unhealthy relationship behaviors (eg. violence). • Students learn that any relationship can be healthy or unhealthy and that in healthy relationships people should feel safe, secure and cared for most of the time. In unhealthy relationships people will feel confused, anxious and unsure. • Students learn that it is OK to express interest in someone, it is OK if the person doesn’t feel the same way and it is important to always accept the person’s response. • Students will learn to use I statements ans active listening skills as well as be aware of using positive and supportive verbal and body language.

8. Stress and Pressure in Relationships • In Lesson 5 students will identify the ways to communicate in order to build healthy relationships. • They will identify behaviors to deal positively with the changes in relationships (eg. a friend stops being your friend). • Students discuss why relationships with friends, family and other people can be difficult. • Students examine the most effective ways to talk about their emotions or about a difficult topic and what skills could be used to handle situations where people get upset with each other.

9. Accomodation Process • In order to request an accommodation or exemption a parent needs to complete a letter explaining what aspects of thelessons they are seeking accommodation/exemption based on. • An accommodation is a change in the lesson. • An exemption is the excusal of the child from the lesson. In that case the students will be supervised at school and may complete an alternative independent assignment.

10. VPMS Letter - Page 1 At Valley Park MS, the Growth and Development section of the Grade 6 Health Curriculum will be covered beginning in mid-April. Our school staff have organize the curriculum expectations into 5 lessons which will be completed over the course of 2-3 weeks. In Lesson 1 students will identify factors that influence their self-concept and examine what internal and external factors have a positive and negative impact on their self-concept, identity and relationships. In Lesson 2 students identify what it feels like to be excluded and included and examine the formation and impacts of assumptions and stereotypes based on social identities. Students are encouraged to be proud of their own self-concept and respect others who have different identities. In Lesson 3 students examine the concepts of physical changes, emotional changes and social changes that occur during puberty. Students will learn how to build confidence and develop healthy relationships by acquiring a clearer understanding of the various changes (social, emotion and physical) that occur during adolescence. In Lesson 4 students examine a variety of types of relationships (eg. Friends, family, employer, dating/romantic) and then identify the attributes of healthy relationships (honest communication, respect etc.), warning behaviors (eg. your friend tries to control you) and unhealthy relationship behaviors (eg. violence). In Lesson 5 students will identify the ways to communicate in order to build healthy relationships. They will identify behaviors to deal positively with the changes in relationships (eg. a friend stops being your friend). In order to seek a religious accommodation a parent is required to explain what aspect of these lessons they are seeking religious accommodation. If you wish to request accommodation please use the back of this page to explain your request and return it to the office by April 8th. If an accommodation or exemption is approved the parent will be notified in writing and a copy will be kept in the child’s OSR. Yours Sincerely, Kevin Battaglia

11. VPMS LETTER – Page 2 LETTER FROM PARENT – Grade 6 Growth and Development: Accommodation/Exemption March 24th, 2016 Dear Principal, I am seeking an accommodation or exemption for my child _____________________________ from the following parts of the growth and development unit (explain): ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Student Name: ___________________________ Student Class: ____________________________ Parent Name: _____________________________ Parent Signature: __________________________