Transforming Culture through Compassionate Connections

November 16 (Saturday), 2024 | 12:00 - 4:30 PM
YCIS Shanghai PuDong Century Park Campus
Hosted by Jana van Zyl

This participant-driven gathering is an opportunity to connect in-person, share practices, and explore common professional inquiries.

During this Peer Sharing and Learning event, we will explore the power of building strong relationships while creating a culture of care, excellence, and belonging in schools. Whether you are an educator, administrator, or school counsellor, this event will surface valuable insights and tools to help you cultivate a more compassionate and supportive learning environment for all students.

In four break-out sessions, we will cover the following topics:

Culture of Care
Culture of Excellence
Culture of Belonging (Primary)
Culture of Belonging (Secondary)

Hosts

Jana van Zyl

YCYW Head of Inclusion

Agenda

12:00 – 12:15 – Registration and Connecting

12:30 – 12:45 – Welcome Address

13:00 – 14:15 – Break-out session #1 (Choose 1 of the topics below to participate in)

Culture of Care: Community Relationships
Culture of Excellence: Pedagogical Responsibility
Culture of Belonging: Restorative Practices (Primary)
Culture of Belonging: Restorative Practices (Secondary)

14:15 – 14:45 – Break

14:45 – 15:30 – Compassionate Connections Showcase

15:30 – 16:15 – Panel Debrief (Creating a Sustained Culture of Care)

16:15 – 16:30 – Closing Address

Breakout Rooms

Culture of Care

Community Relationships

In this breakout room, we will explore the importance of building a culture of care in schools through strong community relationships. We will discuss practical strategies for fostering positive relationships between students, teachers, and parents, and how these relationships can contribute to a supportive and inclusive school culture. We will also discuss the the importance of student autonomy and how it can be fostered to create a sense of ownership and responsibility among students.

Essential Questions:

How can we build positive relationships between staff, students and parents?
How can we facilitate open communication in our community that leads to shared understanding and purpose?
How can we support students to take ownership of their educational journey?
How could we map community provision against needs of learners and pursue new networks and contacts to ensure all needs are met？

Culture of Belonging

Restorative Practices (Primary)

In breakout room 3, we will focus on restorative justice and how it can benefit school in creating a culture of belonging or support. Restorative justice is a process that aims to repair harm and relationships between individuals. We will discuss the principles of restorative justice, including addressing harm caused by incidents or conflicts, repairing the damage, creating strong relationships, encouraging accountability and positive changes and ultimately promoting inclusion.

Essential Questions:

How can the process of restorative justice be adapted to suit our younger learners? How can we make it a meaningful activity (as opposed to simply saying sorry and moving on)?
How can we engage the parents in restorative justice? How can we explain it to parents so they will engage with it?

Culture of Excellence

Pedagogical Responsibility

In this breakout room, we will explore our responsibility as educators in creating a culture of excellence, with high expectations for learning and behaviour. We will discuss how teachers can take ownership of their teaching practices and create an environment that fosters a sense of safety, identity and belonging in which all children can thrive. We will also reflect on the importance of social and emotional learning and developing self-awareness practices to grow students’ emotional intelligence.

Essential Questions:

How can teachers place their primary role as pastoral leaders at the centre of their approach to classroom teaching?
How can we be culturally responsive to the needs our students from a classroom based perspective?

Culture of Belonging

Restorative Practices (Secondary)

In breakout room 4, we will focus on restorative justice and how it can benefit school in creating a culture of belonging or support. Restorative justice is a process that aims to repair harm and relationships between individuals. We will discuss the principles of restorative justice, including addressing harm caused by incidents or conflicts, repairing the damage, creating strong relationships, encouraging accountability and positive changes and ultimately promoting inclusion.

Essential Questions:

How can restorative practices benefit schools in creating a culture of belonging and support?
To what extent do our school policies, vision and pastoral care implement effective restorative practices.

Venue

YCIS Shanghai PuDong Century Park Campus

1433 Dongxiu Road (near Jinhe Road), Pudong

东绣路1433号 (近锦和路)

Free for PeerSphere Members Subscribers

RMB300.00 for non-Members

Refund Policy

If notice of cancellation re the registered participant is received:

30+ days pre-event: 80% of fee is refundable
15-29 days pre-event: 40% of fee is refundable
Less than 15 days pre-event: no refund

Refund due to PD Event Cancellation

In the event of cancellation of a conference, workshop or online PD program, we will fully refund the registration or sponsorship fee(s) paid. However, we will be unable to refund any travel, visa or accommodation expenses incurred or course material fees where access has been granted.