The Content of our Character

At our faculty meeting this week, we reviewed the results from the Climate Survey completed by staff, parents, and students at the beginning of the school year. Kindness is king in 2B--all students know that kindness is my favorite word and concept. Ever. Morning Meeting fosters community and kindness, and I try to foster kindness throughout the day in subtle ways, just through the way we communicate, our nonverbal language, etc. The results of the student surveys were promising in that many students responded that someone says something nice to them and/or they say something nice to someone each day. Some students, though, indicated that they say or hear mean words being spoken toward peers. A part of me cringes in acknowledging that this is reality: people are not always kind. But the ceaseless idealist in me says: I will work tirelessly to help students in 2B to be the kindest in all the land.

It's March. And our students have been together most days of the week for most waking hours of the day for about 6 months. Not to mention learning and growing in a classroom together through Kindergarten and 1st grade, as well, for the most part. With that being said, at this point in the year, I think we can all use a refresher focus on kindness. In celebration of kindness, here are some recent shots of our students--smiling, cooperating, being silly, having fun.

We continue to focus on building character at school. Here are some of our school wide character focuses to keep in mind in teaching and learning with your child at home. I am quite sure we all hope for these things for our students. I encourage you to think through how you can focus on these concepts with your child in daily life at home :).

Respect: The Golden Rule, courteous actions, acceptance, nonviolence, understanding

Responsibility: accountability, self-control, perseverance, hard work, self-discipline, right/wrong, thinking before acting

Caring: show concern for others, friendliness, empathy, charitable, compassion, generosity

Effective Communicator: patience, active listening, optimism, assertion, cooperation, tolerance, reliability, just, honest, integrity

Creative Problem Solver: take initiative, persist in spite of obstacles, flexibility, creativity, resourcefulness, open-mindedness, leadership

Citizenship: honor and respect for authority, for our country, volunteer, have a voice