The Benefits of Serenity in a Stressful World
Modern life is filled with stress:
An accident on the interstate snarls traffic. A combative comment on social media stings. A family member forgets to follow through on a household chore. Frustration gradually builds and we react, often badly.
Children observe these fraught moments, which can complicate their own understanding of how to cope with negative emotions and conflicts. We are taking important intentional steps to help their students better cope with frustrations and stressors.
At The Branch School, we practice the art of peacemaking to help students resolve conflicts, understand emotions, and respect differences.
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"What Can Children Learn by Practicing Peacemaking?"
Fill out the form to download this free, step-by-step PDF resource that explains the art of peacemaking.
Learn More About Our Peacemaking Program
In conjunction with our Standards of Conduct, students learn the skills of peacemaking as an integral part of our curriculum. Through morning meetings, by teacher example, and role-playing lessons, students begin to see how these skills can bring positive results in the classroom, in the home, and in the world beyond themselves. The program focuses on four major concepts:
1. Loving and accepting self and others
2. Communicating effectively
3. Resolving conflicts
4. Understanding intercultural differences
The Importance of a Kind, Respectful School Atmosphere
The calm and happy atmosphere of our private school in Houston allows students to enjoy learning and engage in ideas with pure excitement. Within our tucked-away campus, students are safe to deeply connect with the people around them – their peers, their teachers, and community members. Secure in this family-like environment, students feel empowered to ask questions, confident to give presentations in front of their classmates, and to explore and grow their capacities in ways they might not have thought possible. Our loving environment emboldens students to reach higher, preparing them for the best high schools in Houston and beyond.
Branch Moving Forward
The Branch School is in the midst of much positive growth with recent playground enhancements installed and an additional school building completed September 2022.
Application Process
Our goal is to make the admissions process as simple as possible. Please see the below Admissions Checklist. If you have any questions, please contact a member of our Admissions Team.
Social Emotional Learning
At The Branch School, we value our students’ social and emotional well-being. Our students participate in weekly SEL classes where they learn more about their feelings, character qualities, and peacemaking. In this class, students form strong relationships with one another and discover how kindness and gratitude can shape our world.
We also explore the effects that strong emotions can have on the body and learn the techniques and tools that we can use to manage them. The peacemaking component also give students the tools to bring resolution to everyday misunderstanding and conflicts where everyone wins.
So, why teach Social Emotional Learning? When we begin to understand our emotions, sensations, and feelings, we can better recognize and control how we act and be better, happier, more peaceful students and citizens.
Outdoor Education
The Branch School is a leader in environmental education in Houston, and we’ve been honored to share our curriculum with many other schools. We hold reciprocal relationships with the Houston Audubon Society, Urban Harvest, and the Jane Goodall Institute and have benefited from a series of grants from foundations that recognize our unique and comprehensive approach.
Project work in our Outdoor Classroom fuses science and math exploration in concrete, hands-on ways, building observational skills, measurement and math acuity, and critical thinking expertise to foster a deeper understanding of ecosystems and the natural world. From planting bulbs to document life cycles, to counting birds and butterflies to gauge the effects of climate change on at-risk species, the Outdoor Classroom opens a world of learning to students that just can’t be found in a textbook.
I love teaching at The Branch School because I love being a part of the learning that goes on when children are exploring new things and they have that "ah-ha" moment. Observing them problem-solve and work things out on their own in peaceful ways, using "I-messages" and reflective listening is incredibly fulfilling.Teacher