Principal's Quest

Consideration

 

Consideration:  Showing that you care about other people’s needs and feeling.

If you show consideration, you show you care about other people’s needs and feelings. It makes me feel happy inside to see J.H. House students being considerate of others.

It will give you a good feeling inside when you are considerate of others. Think about ways you can help others. Notice how people are feeling and do your part to make each day a great day at J. H. House. You’re considerate when you help in the classroom by passing out supplies or snacks. You are considerate when you help a friend learn something. You are caring when you notice someone needs something, like help carrying books or even getting a tissue for a friend who sneezes. You may notice others don’t have some needed supplies and you are considerate when you loan them some of yours. You are considerate when you notice someone is hurting and you try to make them feel better. You are considerate when you step aside and let someone else go first.

Let’s start this year off by giving gifts of consideration! Think of ways you can be considerate. Then take action!  Be kind and care about others. Then share with us on the comments section. I can’t wait to read the gifts of consideration that you will be giving.

 

Fairness

Fairness: freedom from favoritism, self-interest, or indulgence of one’s likes and dislikes

“That’s not fair!” Have you ever said that or heard someone else say those words? What was happening when you heard those words? Let’s think about what fairness means. If a person is fair they treat people the way they wish to be treated.

What do you think makes a person fair?

• A fair person takes turns.

• A fair person shares candy or food.

• A fair person plays by the rules.

• A fair person listens.

• A fair person would not take advantage of someone.

• A fair person considers all the facts before making a decision.

• A fair person is open-minded.

• A fair person tries to understand what others are saying and feeling.

Let’s have fun with this character trait and write rhyming sentences about fairness. I’ll start off with this rhyme:

Treat everyone the same.

Then no one is to blame.

Here’s another:

I like to share.

It shows I care!

Compassion

Compassion: concern for suffering or distress of others and response to their feelings and needs

Having compassion means that you care about the feelings of others. You feel the feelings of others.You open up your heart and try to see beyond your own wants and needs. You notice if people feel bad. You want to help them feel better.

The best thing about compassion is that it has a “ripple” effect. That means if you are kind at home you bring that kindness to school. If you care at school you will show that caring feeling when you are outside your home and school. Then when you are nice and reach out to people to help, this ultimately is felt by others who in turn will show compassion. Think what a difference showing compassion can make in our world!

Let’s start right here at J. H. House and “catch kids being compassionate!” We have stories to tell so comment, comment, comment about compassionate kids!

 

Commenting on Comments

Your comments have just made my day! I'll have to admit that I was feeling a bit "down" earlier today, but when I began reading all of your comments my attitude changed completely.  Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my thoughts on "character" traits. I enjoyed seeing how your writing is improving and how you are becoming so adept at expressing yourself.  I'll be posting next week on "Compassion".  If you observe someone who is demonstrating compassion, please let me hear from you. Feel free to continue to respond to any of the "character" traits blogs.  I love hearing from you!

Citizenship

Citizenship: democracy, equality, justice, liberty

Where is the best school with the best students in the whole wide world?  How often have you heard me ask that question over the intercom? Many, many, many times, right? I love hearing your voices vibrating throughout the halls as you shout with pride, J. H. HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! J. H. House elementary school is full of good citizens. I know that each and every one of you know the traits of a good citizen but I am going to give you a quick review of how to be a good citizen.

• Do your share to make your school, your community, and the world a better place.
• Take responsibility for what goes on around you.
• Participate in community service.
• Help take care of the environment.
• Be a good neighbor.
• Treat other people with respect and dignity.
• Follow the rules of your family, your school, and your society.

Now, let’s have some fun. I caught Juan holding the door for another student when they were entering the school this morning from the buses. I bet I will catch others this week. Can you catch someone in the act of being a good citizen? List those acts on the comments section.  You can catch students, teachers, cafeteria workers, teacher aides, office people, visitors and anyone else here at the school. Let’s celebrate good citizenship at J. H. House!

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness: worthy of confidence

“I trust you.” Those three words are so good to hear from another person. That person could be your parents, other family members, your teachers or your friends. So, how do you get someone to trust you? It really is easy but it is something you must earn. The way you earn trust is by being honest, keeping your promises, and by being loyal.

Here’s how you can earn it:

tell the truth.
be your best.
stand up for what you believe.
practice self-discipline
keep your word.
return what you borrow.

Have you read the book, “The Berenstain Bears and the Truth” by Stan and Jan Berenstain? Brother and Sister Bear learn how important it is to tell the truth after they accidentally break Mama Bear's most favorite lamp. Papa Bear helps them find the words that set everything right again. This is a good book that teaches boys and girls how it is better to tell the truth and not to lie no matter what they have done.

I bet you have read books that teach about and show examples of trustworthiness. Share them on the comments section. Be sure to give the name of the book and the author and how the character in it learned trustworthiness. Reread the points I listed about how you can earn trust. Then share your books with me and everyone else at J. H. House. What fun!

A Civics Lesson from our Parents

On election day, J. H. House was a voting precinct. I saw many of our parents there exercising their right to vote. They were demonstrating self control because they remained calm even though the voting lines were very long. It was very tiring to stand in line for as long as they did without feeeling irritable and becoming rude. However, our parents knew they had a civic duty to vote and they did it without complaining. Way to go voters at J. H. House Elementary!

Adding to our Weblog Community

What a great community of webloggers we are becoming! I am so excited that each of our 3rd grade teachers has established a class weblog. See Rikard's Weblog, Lane's Weblog, McCullers' Weblog, and Babin's Weblog. I know it takes time to develop something like this, but it is so worth it. When I was in third grade, I could never have imagined being able to communicate with others like this. WOW!! We have really come a long way!

Self Control

Self Control: exercising authority over one’s emotions and actions

Self-Control is the ability to make a choice about how you behave instead of just acting on an impulse. You have self-control when you think about a situation and what might happen if you behave a certain way. If you show self-control, you make appropriate decisions and choose behaviors that will have good outcomes.

Self-control is very important for getting along with other people. It is thinking before acting.

You show self-control when you…….

• close a door quietly instead of slamming it
• wait patiently to talk instead of interrupting someone who is talking
• look both ways before crossing the street
• take turns with your friends
• follow your teacher’s instructions
• talk softly instead of shouting
• go to bed on time so you get a good night’s sleep
• sit quietly on the school bus so you stay safe
• start homework without being told
• come to dinner on time
• follow the school rules so you can learn
• you stop and think before you act when you feel angry about something

When visitors come to our school we always gets compliments on how well behaved you are. That means you show self-control and that makes me very proud of you! Let’s share techniques for how we work at learning self-control like…..

· If I start to feel angry I make a picture of a red light in my head and then I stop and think.

· I count silently 1, 2, 3 when I feel that I might lose my temper.

· I take a deep breath before I react to someone who yells at me.

What techniques do you use to show self-control? Sharing our techniques shows how we work as a team at J. H. House Elementary School! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Initiative

Initiative: Seeing what needs to be done and doing it without someone telling you to.

Are you the kind of person who sees what needs to be done and just does it? That makes you a student with initiative.

It takes practice though to look at what is going on and deciding what is needed. You have to be a good thinker and willing to work. Initiative begins with understanding and insight. You see a need, an opportunity or an obligation as a beginning point. It means you think of others outside of yourself. Many times this is a trait that needs to be developed. You have to believe that work is good and then work at it and help others work at it.

Your parents have probably helped you learn by teaching you that there are consequences if you do not do what needs to be done. Some examples at home could be your chores around the house or doing your homework without being told. Your parents let you know what was expected and then followed through to help you learn how to make good decisions and wise choices. They were laying a foundation to teach you initiative.

Then at school your teachers and other educators continue to help you grow by encouraging you to help in the classroom so it is a clean, orderly place that promotes learning. They have rules so that everyone is respected and work gets done and teamwork is fostered. Teachers join with your parents to help you learn the importance of following through on what should be done.

Look around! Think about others! Are they showing initiative? Share your thinking in this area. Notice if your friends are showing initiative. Praise them on a post! Write about something you may try to do in the near future to show initiative. Explain why that would be showing initiative. Let’s help each other understand the importance of having initiative.