![Elementary School Students ‘C.A.R.E.’ About Mindfulness]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1585063526/bronxvilleschoolorg/vnos8ycrwvevllltgduk/032420_mindful.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1585063526/bronxvilleschoolorg/vnos8ycrwvevllltgduk/032420_mindful.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1585063526/bronxvilleschoolorg/vnos8ycrwvevllltgduk/032420_mindful.jpg","width":521}])
In support of its C.A.R.E. program – which stands for community, awareness, responsibility and empathy – Bronxville Elementary School held an assembly centered around mindfulness on Feb. 28.
The assembly was developed and hosted by Student Council members, teacher Derrick DiRienzo and Assistant Principal Rakiya Adams. It opened with a mindfulness exercise, which was conducted by school psychologist Dr. Joyce Vastola and facilitated by students from the high school Meditation Club, before students reviewed the difference between “mind-full” and “mindful.” The assembly also featured a few rounds of mind trivia, where students from the audience read scenarios and identified whether the fictional character operated in the “emotion,” “wise” or “fact” mind.
DiRienzo said the students learned about the importance of living in a “wise mind,” which is defined as making decisions based on feelings and facts.
The C.A.R.E. program is part of the elementary school’s social-emotional learning curriculum and plays an important role in maintaining a caring school environment.
“The C.A.R.E. curriculum focuses on helping students develop self-awareness and an increased sense of who they are personally and as part of our school community,” Dr. Vastola said. “We work on skills to increase our self-awareness, the ability to tolerate distress and regulate ourselves and the ability to develop satisfying interpersonal relationships.”
