Brewsterconnections - Brewster Academy

OurBest SelvesWith the fall trimester behind us, there is time for pause andreflection. Students have worked hard, completed exams,and are settling into their second trimester. Freshmen andother new students have become familiar with the Brewsterprogram and know that their growth and success are the priority of our faculty.Seniors have completed first rounds of college applications, a big relief no doubt.Another successful sports season concluded (with New England championshipand Lakes Region titles earned) and a new season is upon us, and a new seasonis upon us, and we celebrated the opening of our latest facility – the turf surfaceon Brown Field. We’ve even had our first snowfall and thus the winter trimester isfast underway.One point of emphasis that the entire school has been focusing on this year hasbeen in the introduction of the concept of being your best self. The concept issuch an integral component of The RULER Approach, and the anchor called metamoment, that we have been devoting quite a bit of time and attention to trainingstudents in its use. It is one of the key skills in teaching students how to regulateand understand the impact that emotions have on their decision making,interpersonal relationships, and academic and personal success.While more information on meta moment and the concept of being your bestself may be found on our website, for purposes of what you will find in thefollowing pages of this issue of Connections, the best way to characterize theconcept within the context of our emotional literacy skill development trainingis to think of it as a way for one to visualize how they would ideally like torespond to an emotional trigger versus how they would normally respond, andto internalize why and how these two different ways of responding can lead to amore positive response to issues confronted on a day-to-day basis. The interview2 BrewsterConnections – Fall 2012