Cluster Wide Morning Meeting is an initiative I started a few years ago in order to build community among our youngest learners at the Renaissance Charter School. The last Wednesday of every month students in grades K-5 convene in the auditorium for a brief 20-minute check in. Every Meeting follows the same protocol:
This year we added monthly awards to our agenda. Awards we recognized thus far include: Kindness, Good Listening, Effort, Responsibility, Curiosity, and Initiative. We honor the students who receive the award with a shout out, nice photo and applause. Photos are posted on the 3rdFloor for all to see.
I find Morning Meeting to be extremely powerful. Through this experience students find newfound bravery in public peaking, learn to listen to others and sit through a presentation, recognize names and faces they encounter as they walk through the building, and learn about topics taught in other grades. It’s a wonderful feeling to know what other friends are learning and to see students take pride in the work they completed. For me, I don’t get much time working with younger grades. It’s fun for me to learn names of the students I’ll eventually teach math to. It’s a time that shows the cluster that we are all united and support one another. I’ve received so much positive feedback from kids, and it makes me so happy that they too look forward to our monthly gatherings.
If you have any fun and wacky questions you want to hear at our next Morning Meeting, comment below!
- Greeting-all meetings start off with the following Call and ResponseGreeting: “Good Morning Cluster 1!” Students respond with: “Good Morning Christina!” At this time I invite students to say Good Morning to those around them with a pleasant greeting, a proper handshake, and a smile.
- Positive Share- Three students participate in a Positive Share from different grades. Students who volunteer for this positive share start each Positive Share by answering the silly question of the day, before sharing one cool thing they are learning in school.
- Academic Share- Each month, one classroom volunteers to share a project, activity, or a lesson they completed. This time allows other classes to see what other grades are working on. Students read their published stories, share a Social Studies’ skit, demonstrate a science experiment or show off a math project during this share.
- Activity- Finally we end each meeting with an Activity. This is usually a game of some sort. Some of our favorite games include: twenty questions, Hum-Dinger, and Charades.
This year we added monthly awards to our agenda. Awards we recognized thus far include: Kindness, Good Listening, Effort, Responsibility, Curiosity, and Initiative. We honor the students who receive the award with a shout out, nice photo and applause. Photos are posted on the 3rdFloor for all to see.
I find Morning Meeting to be extremely powerful. Through this experience students find newfound bravery in public peaking, learn to listen to others and sit through a presentation, recognize names and faces they encounter as they walk through the building, and learn about topics taught in other grades. It’s a wonderful feeling to know what other friends are learning and to see students take pride in the work they completed. For me, I don’t get much time working with younger grades. It’s fun for me to learn names of the students I’ll eventually teach math to. It’s a time that shows the cluster that we are all united and support one another. I’ve received so much positive feedback from kids, and it makes me so happy that they too look forward to our monthly gatherings.
If you have any fun and wacky questions you want to hear at our next Morning Meeting, comment below!
Greeting:
Positive Share:
 |  Teachers caught wearing stripes during Morning Meeting!! |
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