September Roses is another great book like 14 Cows for America. Both demonstrate how others show empathy. “On September 11, 2001, two sisters from South Africa are flying to New York City with 2,400 roses to be displayed at a flower show. As their plane approaches the airport, a cloud of black smoke billows over the Manhattan skyline. When they land, they learn of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. All flights are canceled; the sisters cannot go home, and they are stranded with boxes and boxes of roses.”

What can you do to show empathy today, this month, this school year?

This year our Character Education theme is “Communities form Connections.” Through building relationships, we can build a better school, community and world. Each month we will highlight a character trait and use a read aloud to reinforce this trait.

September is Communities Show Empathy. Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah wrote 14 Cows for America. One inscription reads, “To all the little children who read this book. You are the peace the world has been waiting for. May you grow to be compassionate diplomats.” You have the ability to make the world and our school a better place.

What can you do this year to heal a sorrowing heart? How will you show empathy?

Please post your comment to our class blog. Remember… this blog is an extension of our classroom. Communicate clearly and be respectful of others.

Falcon Vote

Today our class welcomed, Mrs. Lopez, US Army Corporal Manny Lopez’s mother, into our class. Mrs. Lopez is a Gold Star parent who lost her son while he was defending our country. We had the opportunity to hear her story, ask her questions about Manny and enjoy a snack. Our class created a quilt that highlighted many of the wonderful qualities in which Manny possessed, the hobbies he enjoyed and the people who were closest to him. We gave the quilt to Mrs. Lopez as a symbol of our gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice. Today was a memorable day for all of us.

Patriotism is the word of the month for our Character Education program. On May 17th we will come together as a school community and wear red, white and blue.

Patriotism is the quality of being supportive for one’s country. One way to show devotion to our country is to honor and respect the American flag. Pam Ryan’s The Flag We Love reminds us of our country’s ideals.

Ronald Reagan said, “If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.” Another way to show your patriotism is to honor our service men and women. Vetiquette is a character education program that teaches children the importance of showing gratitude for our veterans and particularly for gold star families (families that have lost an immediate family member in service to our country). Here are additional biographies of some true American Heroes – Vetiquette 2019.

A Blue Star Family Member is someone who has an immediate family member serving now. (Immediate family member means a parent, child or sibling)

A Gold Star Family member is someone who had an immediate family member die while serving our country.

Celebrating holidays like Labor Day, Patriot Day, Independence Day and Flag Day are ways to show Patriotism. Memorial Day is this month and is an important holiday to show patriotism. Here’s more.

It is time to get those creative juices going again! Mrs. McBride is offering another opportunity to put your skills to work and show your spirit. Find out more details for this month’s challenge here – The Patriotism Challenge.

It is time to get those creative juices going again! Mrs. McBride is offering another opportunity to put your skills to work. Find out more details for this month’s challenge here – The Gummy Bear Challenge.

April is blue for respect.Respect is to show polite regard and consideration. Respect is a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, and important and should be treated a certain way. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Cottage Lane’s book of the month, Pinduli, is a surprising story about self-image, self-acceptance, and treating others with respect. After reading, sharing and discussing this special book you will realize how a few tiny words – bad or good – can create something enormous!

Do you think that by hurting someone else’s feelings it made the animals who made Pinduli feel bad, feel better about themselves?

Additional Resources:

• Respect Each Other
• Shaquem Griffin’s Story
• Amazing Kids of Character: Respect

This month please practice respect toward others, adults and the Earth!

On Tuesday and Friday, please wear blue. As a school community, we are going to show our support for Autism Awareness and our monthly assembly, Respect! This is a great time to show respect for others and others diagnosed with Autism.

What else can you do? Please visit Mrs. McBride’s website for further details – Blue for Autism.

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD.) “It is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. Down Syndrome International (DSI) encourages friends all over the world to raise awareness of what Down Syndrome is, what it means to have Down syndrome, and how people with Down Syndrome play a vital role in our lives and communities.”

Rock Your Socks tomorrow March 21st to show your support. Visit Mrs. McBride’s website for more information.