All School Recess

In Fall 1988, the Character Education Partnership awarded CPSC a "Promising Practices Award" for All School Recess.

All School Recess is a 40-minute period at mid-day when all of our students, kindergarten through 5th grade, play outside together. It's a time to get out into the fresh air, play creatively, explore nature, and exercise imaginations as well as bodies. Students go outside in all weather -- only in extreme severe weather does ASR move indoors. All School Recess has been a tradition at CPSC since our very first year.

During All School Recess, students build friendships and a sense of community across age levels. Students are expected to treat others with care, respecting their bodies, feelings, and the things they have made.  They are also expected to respect the environment and the play equipment they share with others. It's a time to practice social skills and problem-solving, with adults available to mediate if necessary.

Teachers rotate duty at All School Recess, with staff assigned to specific areas to ensure adult supervision at all times.  Two strategies help staff guide students toward safe, respectful and appropriate play:

The Five Questions:

1) What are/were you doing?

2) Did it feel safe to you and others?

3) Were you respecting yourself, your friends and our school?

4) Were you having fun doing it?  Was it fun for others?

5) (if others were involved)  Did everyone agree to the rules of the game before you started to play?

Talk It Out

Both parties need to agree to talk out the problem, speaking one at a time, honestly and respectfully.

1) Each person tells what happened, asks why it happened, and tells how they feel.

2) Each person restates what the other person said, and the other person confirms or corrects that restatement.

3) Both people think of ways to solve the problem and agree on how to do it.

4) They then practice doing what they agreed to do, and let someone else know how it went (a CPSC staff member or parent).

During All School Recess, students have unstructured time to practice among themselves the expectations and peacemaking strategies they learn in the classroom.  More than just a break from academics, All School Recess is a valuable social skills laboratory time, an essential part of our school day.

Find more information on All School Recess in our Parent Handbook.