A school culture that encourages and supports lifelong happiness, success and well-being, focuses on the development of “the whole child”. In addition to advancing your child’s educational needs and goals, it is equally important to teach, promote and reinforce positive values and traits during the early and formative years.
Character Education in the Haddon Heights Elementary Schools is a partnership with parents and the community to foster honest, responsible and caring students. It is an intentional and proactive effort to help students understand, care about, and act upon basic values that we all share. Character Education promotes a positive school climate where students are more polite, honest and respectful, enhances student achievement by improving school attendance and reducing classroom conflicts, and encourages community involvement and a lifelong commitment to helping others.
We are very excited to share with you some of what we are doing in our Character Education Program throughout our elementary schools this year.
Our Character/ Garnet theme of the Month program will focus on a different trait each month, however all character traits are highlighted and modeled throughout the year. Through a generous grant from the HHPTG, the school counselor was able to work with a committee of teachers to identify and purchase specific Character Ed books. We were able to give our teachers two different books (with lesson plans and extension activities) for each month to use during their “Morning Meeting” time in their daily schedule. This program was implemented with an ascending objective in mind so the books are different at each grade level and each month, and will continue to build on to each other as the student moves through Kindergarten- 6th grade.
Each classroom teacher also nominates two students from their classroom each month who have exemplified that month’s character trait to be a “Garnet Kid of the Month” and receive a certification.
The character traits include:
September is Citizenship: Be an informed, responsible and caring participant in your community.
October is Respect: Show high regard for self, others and property.
November Responsibility: Be accountable for your own behavior.
December is Kindness: Be kind, caring, considerate and generous to everyone.
January is Perseverance: Stay with a task and do not give up.
February is Fairness: Demonstrate impartial, unbiased and equitable treatment for all.
March is Honesty: Be truthful in word and action.
April is Caring: Show concern for the well being of others.
May is Teamwork: Learning to be an effective communicator and being able to work together as a team.
June is Leadership: Be a leader in your class and on your team. Stand up for what it right.