Each month at our all-school meetings, we take time to educate our students about our CARES and also recognize a few who demonstrate them often at school. This particular year, as mentioned in previous posts, our focus has been on the "A" or ASSERTION. The past few winter all-school meetings have included videos created by grades 1-3 focused on modeling assertion based on picture books. Grade 3 used the classic story The Hundred Dresses (suggested by some students), Grade 2 used Louder Lili (a recommendation from grade 2 teachers), and Grade 1 used Each Kindness, a book recommended in Lester Laminack's anti-bully curriculum (used here at Grainwood in grades K-2). Each story helped launch a classroom conversation and then students acted out examples of assertion for their peers. The videos are highly engaging and always a hit at the meetings.
Educating students about bullying is challenging. There are still misconceptions of what it is and what it is not. "Bullying" is repeated and targeted with intention to hurt the other person, while a "poor choice" is often times isolated and there is not an imbalance of power. Each offers the opportunity for others to step-up and help, which is why we are working to grow our students' assertion skills. Grainwood believes assertion is a key to reducing both bully and poor choice type behavior. Through continued video modeling and engagement with rich literature, we can help our students confidently stand-up for each other. Our mission continues!
Principal Glynn and the CARES Heroes
