Student of the Month Awards

 

As we live out of Core Values, it’s important that we Behave With Care. One way to do to that is by recognizing as many students as possible during Fridays’ assemblies.

To ensure that the specials teachers do not choose a student that has already been recognized by their homeroom teacher, please make sure that you are filling out this form consistently each month. 

Thank you to all the staff members who have been completing the form every month.

NHA's Moral Focus Writing & Art Contest

Our students have the opportunity to show their understanding of our Moral Focus virtues and become a published author or artist! NHA’s Moral Focus Writing and Art Contest allows students to write or create artwork that demonstrates their understanding of one or more Moral Focus virtues. All writing entries must be submitted by January 9 to your child’s homeroom or ELA teacher. All art entries must be submitted to Mrs. Brown by January 20. Please reference the email that was sent Wednesday.

Moral Focus Awards

As we live out our Core Values, it’s important that we Behave With Care. One way to do to that is by recognizing as many students as possible during Friday assemblies.

To ensure that the specials teachers do not choose a student that has already been recognized by their homeroom teacher, please make sure that you are filling out this form consistently each month. 

Thank you to Mandy, Linsey, Crystal, Falak, Teri, Kathleen, Josie, Amy, Danielle, Amanda, Tracy, Emma, Eric, Ja’Rayl, and John for completing the form every month.

Moral Focus Tracking Sheet

 Please make sure that you are updating this Moral Focus tracking sheet every month. This aligns to the Core Value, “Make our school the best choice for parents and students” when you are intentional about providing opportunities for more students to be recognized in a positive way that involves their families.

Moral Focus-Gratitude

 

Help us show GRATITUDE for the month of November! Has someone helped you with something and you would like to thank them and show your gratitude?  Find someone on this Google Sheet and write a short explanation of why you are grateful for them. We will provide a jeans pass to any staff member who gets recognized.  If someone already was gifted a jeans pass, please choose someone else. It’s our desire to show gratitude to EVERYONE!

Big shout out to Andria for coming up with this idea!

Moral Focus

This month we will be recognizing students who exemplify wisdom. Don’t forget that each teacher will recognize one student per month. Every Friday at morning assembly, we recognize students in the following grades:

    ·     Week 1: Y5s-2^nd Grade

    ·     Week 2: 3^rd-5^th Grade

    ·     Week 3: 6^th-8^th Grade

    ·     Week 4: Specials

This month we are altering our schedule. Y5s-2 AND 3-5 will have their SOM assembly on September 20. 6-8 AND Specials teachers SOM assembly is September 27.

Moral Focus

Our Moral Focus virtue for May is Integrity. This month, students will be studying what it means to live with integrity. Integrity is the virtue that guides us as we work to put all other virtues into action.

My challenge to you this month is to reflect on how you have been modeling Moral Focus virtues in your classroom and throughout the school. Make it a priority to grow in integrity between now and the end of the school year by using the Investing in Integrity questionnaire below as a guide. For the past few years, #5 has been a personal goal of mine. I do feel that I am a very integrous person, but I am constantly reflecting to make sure I am delivering the truth with care! Which number could you improve on? 

Moral Focus

Compassion is our Moral Focus virtue this month. Teachers are known for being amongst the most compassionate of professional workers. Being compassionate brings many benefits not only to those on the receiving end of the compassion, but also to the person who is compassionate. However, teachers are prone to compassion fatigue, a condition that affects up to 40% of teachers.

Teachers start to feel resentful rather than resourceful, detached rather than delighted, and exhausted rather than excited. If you have reached this point, you may need to actively work to redevelop COMPASSION in your life. Here are a couple of strategies to try:

Intentional Compassion
– First, direct compassion to someone you like. ‘Practice’ using compassion first toward someone you have good feelings
  toward: a good friend, helpful coworker, or co-operative student.
– Next, be compassionate with someone a bit more neutral: the cashier at the grocery store, a neighbor you don’t know
  well, or a coworker you don’t see often.
– Then, take it up a notch by directing compassion toward someone you have trouble with: a student that has behavioral challenges
  challenges, a parent that is difficult, or a coworker that you usually avoid.
– Finally, turn your compassion to all those in your life

Acts of Kindness: 

Another way to develop compassion is to do five different random acts of kindness all in one day. The effort and impact of doing these all in one day can be life-changing. A few suggestions for acts of kindness include:

– Write a note or card
– Bake cookies for someone
– Give a compliment
– Take a meal to someone in need
– Donate food or money to a local homeless shelter.
– Pay for the order of the person behind you in the drive-thru or checkout line.
– Do a chore that is usually your spouse or child’s responsibility

(Amy Curletto, Stanfield District)

As with anything we want to teach our students, we must model what we want them to develop. Take some time this month to model and talk about COMPASSION with your colleagues and students.

Moral Focus

Our moral focus virtue for March is encouragement. It’s also Women’s History month. How can you connect both? It’s important to expose your students to women who have encouraged positive change in our history. Please read this brief article by Time Magazine for a better understanding and appreciation. http://time.com/4238999/womens-history-month-history/

In honor of Women’s History Month, I would like to recognize Rachel Louise Carson, an American marine biologist, author, and conservationist who is credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Carson warned of the perils of pesticide use, sparked a grassroots green movement and encouraged others to join her in the overhauling of our national policy on pesticides. Her work has saved countless lives — furred, feathered, finned, and human.

Moral Focus-Courage

If you are looking for a new idea to implement during your moral focus instruction, give the activity below a try. You can use this for any of the virtues.

Courage Quotes Activity

1. Display your grade level definition of courage 

2. Give small groups 3-4 minutes to discuss the definition and how they have shown courage.  

3. Project a grade level appropriate quote about courage. Ask each student how the quote relates to them personally. Give each student 4 minutes to think and write their answers on whiteboards (saving paper). 

4. Have everyone stand and find a shoe twin. High five their partner.  

5. Partners take turns discussing what the quotes mean to them personally. Set a timer for each partner to ensure everyone gets a turn to speak. 

Moral Focus

This month is Black History Month and our moral focus virtue is courage. Have you considered making a connection between them? You can do that by simply reading a biography or autobiography of a courageous African American each day during morning work. Click the link for a list of 100 Best Children’s Book for African American History Month. If our library doesn’t have a book, you might find it at your local library, or on YouTube.

https://bookriot.com/2017/02/01/100-best-childrens-books-for-african-american-history-month/

Another option is a Scholastic lesson plan called, 28 Days. In this lesson, students learn about a person or an event for each day of February.

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/17-18/28-days-of-history-a-black-history-month-lesson-plan/

Moral Focus

As we finish up our moral focus instruction for perseverance this month, please feel free to try some of these fun classroom activities with your students.  

Perseverance Activities by on Scribd

Moral Focus

As we continue to emphasize the importance of moral focus instruction, it’s important that they carry over from school to home. Please download the document for some tips that you can include in your weekly newsletters for parents about perseverance. 

Teacher Newsletter Tips for... by on Scribd

Moral Focus

Our Moral Focus virtue this month is perseverance. If we expect our students to exemplify our virtues, we must first model the expectations. It's great to tell students that it is okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are how we learn to do better. If we truly hope to help our students succeed, making mistakes and persevering in front of them may be one of the most important skills we model and pass along.

According to Angela Lee Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania professor of psychology who has done fascinating and extensive research on success, the most successful people have "grit." Duckworth defines grit as "passion and perseverance for very long-term goals."

Do you want to see how much “grit” you have? Take the Grit Test from Angela Duckworth by clicking on Grit Test 

Are you wondering how can you be "gritty about getting your students grittier?" I encourage you to watch this 5-minute TED Talk by Angela.