In 5^th grade Guidance Class today, we learned about compassion. Compassionate acts are things you say or do to help someone else who is hurt or in some sort of pain. It works like this: First, you see someone who is upset, hurt, etc., and you feel empathy for them (“understanding how others think or feel”), and then second, you think of a kind thing to say or do to help them.  Compassion is empathy in action!

In class, we learn from Second Step Videos/Discussion. Then, we practice building compassionate skills by listening to different scenarios, and then naming things a person could say or do to help. Examples:

Situation	Say	Do
A student makes a mistake in front of the class	“It’s ok, everyone makes mistakes.”	Help them with their work
A student falls down and gets hurt at recess	“Are you okay?”	Get some adult help
A student is reprimanded by a teacher for something they did not do	“It’s too bad that happened, buddy.”	Go talk to the teacher and explain what really happened

         Our students learn at school how to have empathy for others and be compassionate.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ann O’Hearn, School Counselor