Golden Gators
Students will be given golden gators by any Gombert staff member when they are observed going above and beyond the 3 Bes. The 3 Bes are Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. This is a school-wide behavior management system. Students receiving Golden Gators will bring a note home indicating that they were exhibiting exceptional behavior at school. They will also turn in a portion of their note to the Gombert main office, where they will be entered in a drawing to attend special activities with Dr. Ricken and Mrs. Stubbs.
Stop-Walk-Talk
Through “Stop-Walk-Talk” students are taught what bullying is and what it is not. For example, teasing, calling someone names, writing hurtful messages, gossiping, pushing or hitting others are examples of bullying. Students are also taught that if someone accidentally bumps into them or politely declines an invitation to play that does not constitute bullying because the intent of the other children was not to hurt or harm them. For those times that someone does bully your children or your children see bullying happening to someone else, we have taught students three things they can do:
1) “Stop” signal. All students were taught the Gombert “Stop” signal. Our stop signal requires them to look directly at the other student, make the Gombert hand signal for stop, and use a firm voice to say, “Stop.” Students were encouraged to use the “Stop” signal if they are being bullied or if they see someone else being bullied.
Students were also taught how to respond if they are given the “Stop” signal. Students receiving the “Stop” signal have been taught to immediately stop what they are doing, take a deep breath, count to 3 slowly, and then go on with their day following our school rules. Students were told that they should stop what they are doing, regardless of whether they agree that they deserved the stop signal or not. By following these guidelines, students show respect for themselves and one another.
2) “Walk away.” What if a student gives another student the stop signal, but the problem behavior continues? Students were then taught to “Walk” away.
3) “Talk.” Finally, if students have tried to solve the problem by using the stop signal and walking away, then they can “Talk” to an adult. School personnel have been trained to respond similarly to a student’s request to talk. First, the staff member will ask the student to describe the problem (what happened). Then, they will ask the student if they used the “stop” signal and tried walking away. Students will be praised for trying these steps or reminded about using these steps first before talking to an adult. Then the staff member will discuss the problem behavior with the student who is engaging in the hurtful, disrespectful, or unsafe behavior. They will remind students what they are to do when they are given the stop signal by another student or students (i.e., immediately stop what they are doing, take a deep breath and count to 3, and continue with their day following our school rules). In addition, staff will enforce the appropriate consequence for breaking one of Gombert’s school rules. Parents will receive a phone call from the school if their student continues to engage in disrespectful behaviors.
Exceptions to Stop-Walk-Talk. One important exception to the “Stop-Walk-Talk” sequence is when a student is in danger such as falling on the playground. In this case, students were told to immediately tell an adult.