ACTS OF KINDNESS(AOK) INITIATIVE BEGINS AT ELDRED SCHOOLS
As I have said many times in the past, the Eldred community is full of nice, kind kids with good parents.
We are not reminded of that fact often enough.
Our schools have a number of programs that stress the positive actions of our students. (Please see the list below).
I would like to take that a bit further. We are going to begin a couple of initiatives. Please find the button on our webpage where students, teachers, staff and parents can be "acknowledged" for doing something good for someone else and/or the community. It doesn't have to be something extraordinary - just an action that makes someone's day just a little easier. It can be anonymous or you can give your name.
We will be sharing this information with everyone at our monthly BOE meeting. (Those individuals identified as “AOK” will be acknowledged at a BOE meeting, of course, we will check with the person who was "made known on AOK" to be sure they want to be publicly acknowledged. Some people like to keep their good deeds quiet.)
We will call this button the Acts of Kindness "AOK" button (please click).
In the same vein, we will have boxes at each school where this information can be dropped into the box.
We are all on this journey together. It's important we support each other. You may click on the icon below.
Sincerely,
Dr. John C. Morgano
Superintendent
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In an effort to provide you with factual information regarding our efforts to make our schools the positive learning environment we all want for our children, I present the following initiatives that are occurring in our elementary and JSHS school.
A course is being offered for teachers to design an elementary addendum to the Code of Conduct that will be more aligned with the needs of elementary school students and reduce the frequency of problematic behaviors.
GRM initiatives:
- Walk and talks
- Brief individual counseling
- Brief small group counseling
- Conflict resolution/peer mediation
- Anger management
- Emotion identification
- Social skills training
- Worry warriors/coping strategies for the anxious
- Coping strategies for grief/loss
- Teacher and parent consults
- Resources and referral
- Grounding techniques, breathing sets, mindfulness, visualization
- Heavy work/sensory breaks
- Think sheets
- Behavior contracts
- Positive reinforcement plans
- Token economies/group contingencies
- Model: ignoring, effective commands, acknowledging expectations and verbal reinforcement, attention grabbing signals
- SEL lessons – small group or whole class by invitation
- Post positive potty papers
- Provided Principal with wall clings with positive affirmations
Have done in past
- Restorative circles
- Restorative justice
- Yoga4classrooms
- Bibliotherapy/writing to address trauma
All Grade Levels K-6
- Social-emotional learning lessons on Mondays
- PATHS curriculums
- Choose LOVE (it introduces courage, gratitude, forgiveness and compassion)
- Peer mediation
- Role play during counseling sessions
- Model positive behavior and social skills
- School Resource Officers (SROs)
- DARE Program
- “Too Good For” program (10 week program providing 1st grade resources to address social emotional learning experiences.
PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) Mackenzie
- PBIS follows Mackenzie Manners: Be safe, Be respectful, and Be responsible
- Big BEE and Little BEE awards monthly for 2 students that show Mackenzie Manners throughout the month. Golden trophy awards are presented to the 2 classes that exemplify the best teamwork during PE classes for the month.
- Quarterly Caring Classmate awards are presented to students in the primary grades exemplifying kindness and empathy to their peers.
- Individual classroom teachers employ their own reward systems. Some examples include prize boxes, happy cards, high fives, and tickets.
- Logical Consequences are being created and will hopefully be implemented in September. These will be created by the teachers under the guidance of Dr. Morgano.
- Socktober sock drive
- December PJ drive
- "Soup"er Bowl donations
- Koala and Kangaroo collection for Australia
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JSHS initiatives:
- Counselors are visible and available during lunches
- Coping skills
- Meet with counselors individually
- Work on calming and de-escalating skills
- Teaching positive self-talk and positive self-image
- Teach respect rights and responsibility
- Try to breakdown social situations to assist in building social skills
- School Resource Officers (SROs)
PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Support) JSHS
- Welcome Back ice cream social at the beginning of the school year and an end of the year ice cream social.
- Winter Welcome back with donuts and coffee coming back from winter break.
Activities to build kindness, empathy, and compassion run by PBIS:
- Homecoming Week/Spirit Week where the classes dress up to show unity.
- Pep rally - students learn about all of the clubs/sports that are available to students. Classes merge together, play games to show cooperation.
- Color Wars (spring) classes work together to compete against other classes.
- "Soup"er Bowl donations
- Student of the Week
- PBIS is working on "What to do" videos modeling the positive behaviors of the PBIS matrix once completed will be posted in a Google Drive for all teachers to be able to incorporate with their lessons throughout the year
PBIS have done in past
- Peer mentoring program which we match 7th graders with upperclassmen to mentor them through their first year at the high school.
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District initiatives:
- Character building/Anti-bullying Speaker
- DASA Training – 6 hour course for all staff
- DASA Training Program for community members
- Suicide Prevention training for staff
- Suicide Awareness implementation
- Speaking with students to educate them on bullying
- Open door policy for students to speak with Superintendent, Principals, Counselors on topics such as bullying of self or others
- “A O K” (Acts Of Kindness) button on the District webpage seeks to focus on and increase positive behaviors