Dear Morningside Center Friends,

It's Giving Tuesday! We have a packed newsletter today, filled with gifts for YOU.

Starting with the launch of our SEL graphic novel and a post about the power of restorative justice from a high school senior, followed by a special discount on our December workshops and a whole month of gatherings for you to explore—there are so many ways to lock in and discover together.

And find us on: Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky—tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, and we invite all your engagement—shares, likes, reposts and comments!

Thank you for your incredible work in 2025, we can’t wait to see what you do in 2026!

Read Our Graphic Novel

Unlocking Our Superpowers: SEL Goes to School

Morningside Center is so excited to present to you—all of our communities of all ages—a Social Emotional Learning Graphic Novel!

This collaborative labor of love is a visual SEL representation and gift from all of us to YOU made possible by a transformative i3 federal grant we were honored to receive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Big shout out to the Team at Media Sutra for all the work that went into this project!

Restorative practices are intrinsically based in an ethos of reciprocity, and this gift is given in that fundamental context. MSC believes it is vital to our communities that all members of our communities feel seen and affirmed—and also honored for their many and diverse gifts—reciprocal in their very nature. We hope the many identities and diversities represented here feel the loving inclusion and celebration we intend.

Morningside’s graphic novel was written with love to reach multiple whole-school communities across the spectrum, and be accessible to all ages and stages, using multiple modalities to demonstrate the vital role that each constituency in a school plays in the process of creating environments where we all thrive.

Whether you are a para, teacher, principal, parent or caregiver, after-school counselor or director, or CBO community, we invite you to share in this gift.

What Do Restorative Justice and Leadership Mean to Our Students? Ask Maimouna

A high school senior shares her story: from an elementary “chatterbox” in the principal’s office to learning about the school-to-prison pipeline and what it meant when she finally met Morningside’s very own Staff Developer, Marisa. 

There I was, a first grader, sitting in the suspension room for talking too much in class. I was a real chatterbox they said—but I sat in the quietness of the room, away from my peers and most importantly, the classroom. school had never felt like my second home.

It was a place where I was constantly being nitpicked and punished for small acts reflected my naiveness not guilt or my moral character. Over time, these suspensions planted beliefs in my young mind; I was the “bad kid”, incapable of kindness and undeserving of true community. It affected how I saw myself, and students who looked just like me. Many of my Black and Brown classmates were suspended just as I was, and it had socially divided us into categories that we’ve been taught to believe we belong to.

Read More

December Workshop Sale!

Another gift for you: discounted December workshop tickets! TODAY workshop tickets are 20% off with code: GivingTues25

Understanding the Adolescent Brain (Dec 9 from 6:30pm to 8pm EST): Learn about adolescent brain development and ways for us to support and navigate through adolescence alongside the young people we support.

Exploring the Range of Emotions (Dec 11 from 6pm to 7:30pm EST): Explore the range of feelings and develop strategies for "big" emotions to support ourselves and those we care for.

A Month of Gatherings

When working with young people, it can feel like moments to build connection are precious and few. We, the Morningside Center community, are fully aware of the time constraints and curriculum mandates that, sometimes, prove obstacles to relationship nurturing. With gratitude and understanding, we offer a month of simple and effective prompts/activities to gather as a community and engage in brief but meaningful sharing, listening and/or engaged play. 

You can gather to check in on feelings, to find commonalities, to celebrate one another, etc. These gathering options can be used at the start of the day, after lunch, during transitions, or any other limited block of time. We remind you that it’s not how much time we have, but rather what we do with it that matters.

"Everyone is needed for what they bring. That we are all needed and not just humans, but every other aspect of the universe brings its gift. Everything has a purpose and a role."  

—Kay Pranis