September’s word of the month…

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.

Word of the month

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.

Autism Awareness

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.

Integrity

Green with Integrity!

  • Integrity is the quality of being honest, having strong moral principles and total sincerity.
  • Honesty is often viewed as saying the right thing and integrity is doing the right thing.
  • Oprah Winfrey states, “Real integrity is doing the right thin knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”

Read and listen to our book of the month, Mr. Peabody’s Apples.

In the story, Tommy realizes the damage he has caused to Mr. Peabody. He says, “I have a lot of work to do.” Pretend you are Tommy and write an apology to Mr. Peabody which explains how Tommy plans to amend what he has done.

 

Compassion is our word of the month…

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama

This month at Cottage Lane we are focusing on compassion. At today’s assembly, we discussed the meaning of compassion and how we can show compassion in school, at home and in the world. Our Compassion Cards encourage us to perform random acts of compassion. From the Smile Train Fundraiser to Valentine’s for Veterans, our compassion can make a difference in the lives of others.

Our book of the month, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world. The main character realizes the lost opportunity for friendship and thinks about how much better it could have been if a little compassion was shown toward others.

Remember…Don’t be a wrinkle in someone else’s heart. Instead…make time this month to complete your compassion cards. Together we can fill our hallway heart!

January’s word of the month~ PERSEVERANCE

Welcome to an exciting New Year, and may you achieve all your goals in 2019.

This month’s assembly, Colors of Character for January, reminds us that perseverance is essential to success.

What can you learn from:

“YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT. YOU CAN DREAM IT. YOU CAN HOPE IT. OR YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

Post your goal for 2019 and the steps you will take to achieve this goal.

December’s word is EMPATHY

Empathy is the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions.

  • Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
  • Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes.
  • Empathy makes the world a better place.

Practice empathy by being observant of others, using active listening and donating a pair of new or gently used shoes for Soles to Souls.

Our book of the month is The Yellow Star by Carmen Deedy. After reading and listening to the Legend of King Christian X of Denmark, explain why the author titled the book The Yellow Star. What does the yellow star symbolize?

Paper Bag Challenge!

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Everyone is out looking for great deals on holiday presents. Don’t fall into this shopping craze. Use some imagination and creativity with Mrs. McBride’s monthly challenge, The Paper Bag Challenge. Save money and the environment! All entries are due Monday, December 17th.

Please visit The Paper Bag Challenge blog post for additional information, ideas and resources.