to use – moulding materials, pencils, pas- tels, paints, found materials – as these relieve the pressure of talking and allow students the freedom to just draw, sketch, scribble or construct without language parameters or requirements. A quiet discussion with a stu- dent about what they have created can open doors to talking about how they are feeling. Or not. Dr. Cook stressed the importance of sometimes letting the student be; there are countless cases of children and adults who have experienced trauma and never choose to discuss what happened – they just move on. In the classroom, anti-bullying initiatives,
the creation of safe spaces, and programs that encourage empathy all work toward creating a safe place for all students to enter. If all students are expected to work together as a social group, to build and encourage be- haviours that will bring about responsible citizenship, this will make transitions for newcomers easier.
CARE FOR TEACHERS
Teachers who work with vulnerable stu- dents often act as the first line of support for those in their care, but can be suscep- tible
to burnout themselves. Building a
school support system of teachers who are working together with the students is a step toward self-care. Simply having colleagues share common experiences is critical to building solidarity. Like our students, fac- ing difficult situations becomes much easier for us when we have a supportive team on which we can rely. In a school like Rose Avenue, in spite of
our large population (there are about 670 students from K–6), we strive to act together in a community to support our students and each other. Frequent collaboration between classroom and ESL/ELL teachers builds community, not only with newcomers, but also with us. Informal meetings about ways to support all our students – whether they are in our classes or not – occur frequently in the hallways, during recess and over email. It is our culture of inclusion that supports vulnerable newcomers, while supporting teaching staff. n
Catherine Inglis is a member of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto.
40 ETFO VOICE | SUMMER 2016
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