Parents

Haledon Public School

Positive Behavior Supports in Schools (PBSIS)

Parent Manual

LEAVE YOUR MARK!

Respect, Responsibility & Self Control

Positive Behavior Support in Schools

The Basis for Haledon Public School

Here at Haledon Public School we really value our parents and the important role they place in our students’ education. We are working hard to reach out to you more often and tell you about what we are doing and share lots of ideas about how we can make your child have a really successful school year. We hope that you will let us know how we are doing and share any feedback you have.

We are very excited to announce the introduction of a new school climate initiative at Haledon Public School this year. Last year, we partnered with the New Jersey Positive Behavior Support in Schools (NJ PBSIS) initiative to design and implement school-wide interventions that will focus on promoting positive student behavior, improve our sense of community, and provide supports for students who need a little extra help. We are very excited about how working with NJ PBSIS is going to enhance our school! You can visit the NJ PBSIS website at www.njpbs.org.

Research suggests that schools with a positive social climate are associated with fewer occurrences of conduct problems and better student performance outcomes (e.g., achievement and attendance). Affirming positive behavior, teaching social skills, equipping teachers with the skills to meet the needs of diverse learners, getting student input, and using multi-setting interventions are all examples of recommended practices for promoting a positive school climate. While a positive school climate benefits all students, students with individuated behavior support planning needs particularly benefit when school environments are positive, welcoming, and supportive of individual needs. Through the NJ PBSIS initiative, we are learning about how to enhance our school’s climate and atmosphere. In particular, we are focusing on how to:

1. Clearly define for students what is expected of them.

2. Be consistent across staff in how we talk to students about those expectations.

3. Improve our procedures and routines so the school day runs smoothly.

4. Provide lots of encouragement and social praise when students display the school expectations.

5. Make students feel welcomed and valued.

6. Encourage positive interactions between students and between students and staff.

7. Provide students with help and support to overcome challenges and difficulties academically, socially, and behaviorally.

We are excited to present to you an overview of LEAVE YOUR MARK! Respect, Responsibility and Self Control for Haledon Public School. This manual will provide you with a list of the behavior expectations we have for our students and the exciting recognition system we are putting in place to celebrate our students accomplishments. Throughout the year we will be sharing with you ideas and suggestions for how you can talk with your child about LEAVE YOUR MARK! at home.

Mr. Christopher Wacha ~ School Principal

Expectations by Location

Last year, we spent time gathering information, asking parents, staff, and students for input and reviewing our office conduct referral data. We used all this information to develop specific behaviors that we want to see of our students in each location of the building. These are the expectations that make up our LEAVE YOUR MARK! Respect, Responsibility and Self Control:

Morning Arrival

• Devices off and put away
• Report to your assigned area
• Use a quiet voice
• Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself
• Follow adult directions

Hallway / Stairway

• Have an appropriate pass
• Walk at all times
• Use a quiet voice
• Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself
• Follow adult directions

Cafeteria

• Have your ID ready
• Walk at all times
• Clean up your area
• Keep you hands, feet, and objects to yourself
• Use a quiet voice

Bathroom

• Have your pass
• Use a quiet voice
• Flush toilet
• Wash your hands
• Return to class within 5 minutes

Teaching Students’ the Expectations

One thing we are really going to do differently this year is using an ‘instructional’ approach to talking with students about behavior expectations. Activities that involve modeling, discussing, and practicing the expectations will occur intermittently throughout the school year. By using an instructional approach students are more likely internalize these behaviors as regular habits. Ongoing throughout the year, we will have activities and instruction specifically targeting the behaviors we expect of our students. Some of the activities we have planned for this year include:

• Monthly raffles with WILDCARDS for great gifts or incentives such as:
  • Free dress down days
  • Principal for the day
  • Homework passes
  • Minute to Win it games for prizes

Stayed tuned for updates and invitations to some of these events!

Celebrating Our Students’ Accomplishments

One of the most important things we can do is give our students positive feedback for the positive choices they are making. We want them to know when they have done the right thing and that we are proud of them. To celebrate our students, we have developed a fun recognition system that we will be using at our school.

Student Requirement: Each teacher will receive pre-printed tickets with their names on them already. There will be a place for the student’s name and staff will initial each ticket. Students will be responsible for signing their tickets and placing them in the appropriate grade level containers in their homerooms. (Middle School students will place tickets in the appropriate House Container.)

Award Presentation: On the last day of the week, during homeroom, two winning tickets per class in grades Pre-K thru 5 will be chosen from each homeroom bin. For grades 6 thru 8, two winning tickets will be selected from each House bin. All tickets that are not chosen will be put into large grade-level or house bins for monthly drawings. The monthly drawings will be held during scheduled assemblies each month. Faculty and staff winners will be chosen at this time as well. At the end of each month, all school-wide tickets will be placed into a large container for a yearly drawing. All winners will have scheduled times to choose their prizes.

Raffle Schedule: The last day of the week during homeroom, monthly at scheduled assemblies, and yearly at final celebration.

Weekly Award Ideas for Students: (To Be Finalized)

1. Fast pass to the front of the lunch line
2. Free dance entry
3. Lunch in the Cafeteria with two friends
4. Prize from Prize Bucket - TBD
5. Homework pass to be used in any one class (at teacher discretion)
6. Shout-out on PA system
7. Extra credit points to be used in any one class (at teacher discretion)

Monthly Award Ideas for Students, Faculty & Staff

There will be two winners per grade. For middle school, there will be two winners per house.

Prizes will vary each month!

Whole School Wide Ideas:

1. Movie day
2. No homework day
3. Game day
4. Pajama day

Getting Involved

Some of our parents have been asking “How can I get involved in LEAVE YOUR MARK!” at Haledon Public School. We are really excited about our parents’ interest and have lots of ideas for how you can help us out:

Talk with your child about the expectations.

• Talk with your child about the expectations and what you expect of them at school. Hearing from you how important these expectations are will reinforce your child making positive choices. Throughout the year we will be sending home Parent Newsletters with ideas and suggestions for talking with your child about Respect, Responsibility and Self Control.
• Think about how the school expectations translate into what you expect of your child at home. What does respect and responsibility look like around the house? As you talk with your child about home routines (like chores) incorporate the language of respect and responsibility.
• Provide lots of praise when your child tells you they got a WILDCARD. Ask them to tell you what they got it for. If they say ‘I don’t know’ (a common kid response) ask some more questions “Who gave it to you?” “What class was it”, etc. The more you get them to talk about it, the more likely they’ll open up.

Volunteer at School

• Help us with the weekly raffles. Want to come during lunch and pull some names? Or Help give out prizes? We would love to have parent volunteers participate in raffle process. Just ask how you can help!
• Offer to “Be a Special Prize”. Perhaps you play an instrument or have a special art talent. Let us know what your special talent is and we can find a way to incorporate it within our prize options (e.g., Play a couple of songs on the guitar for a class; work with the art teacher on a special art project). Or maybe you would like to come in a read a story to the class. Our students LOVE to hear stories read aloud.
• Help with fundraising activities. A couple times of year, we may need to do some fundraising. We can use all the help we can get!
• Encourage the PTO/PTA to get involved. We would love to partner on a fundraising activity or a special event that celebrates our students’ positive behaviors

Give Suggestions and Feedback

• Have some ideas for incentives for the kids, fundraising ideas, special activities to celebrate our students? Have feedback on how your child is responding or what they are saying about the WILDCARD that you think we should hear? Let us know. We want this to be a partnership and getting feedback from our parents and students is really important!

If you want to get involved please contact Mr. Queli at 973-790-9000 or jqueli@haledon.org.