Showing posts with label Character Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Character Education. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2013
The SportsKids of the Year
I found this "feel good" video on Facebook today. It's a heart-warming story about two brothers, and I recommend sharing it with the family. Often times we find our children looking up to their favorite athletes as role models. As this video shows, true role models can be every day citizens, no matter how young.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Wright's Law
Found this video on the New York Times website about an inspirational teacher who teaches his students through "wacky experiments," but much more through his own personal story. Throughout the video his students are always engaged to his lesson, through demonstrations or his words. He develops a tremendous rapport and relationship with all of his students. It's a touching video that I recommend..., it's certainly worth the time.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Power Shuffle
Today, with the help of my guidance intern Ms. Hickey, the sixth grade students participated in an activity called "The Power Shuffle." The silent activity began when all students lined up side-by-side on one side of a long line in the multi-purpose room. Mr. Sussman had Ms. Hickey read various statements regarding bullying to the students. All students were instructed by Mr. Sussman to cross the line and turn around to face students on the other side of the yellow line if they believed a statement held true to them.
A few examples of the statements read are as follows:
*Cross the line if you've ever been teased or called a bad name or made fun of
*Cross the line if you've ever been called a mean name or put down just because you're a girl
*Cross the line if you're a boy and you've ever been told you shouldn't cry, show your emotions, or be afraid
*Cross the line if you've ever been a part of gossip/spreading a rumor.
*Cross the line if you've ever had someone write something negative about you on Facebook, Twitter, or on another form of social media.
After all the statements were read, Mr. Sussman separated the boys and the girls. Ms. Hickey, spoke with the girls, while Mr. Sussman spoke with the boys. Students opened up to Mr. Sussman, Ms. Hickey, and their peers about the difficulties of standing up to bullies. Students were given tips on how to stand-up for one another, as well as a reminder of who to speak with if they feel they are a victim of bullying, or witness another student being bullied.
Monday, November 26, 2012
The Truth About Bullying
I stumbled across this infographic online over our Thanksgiving Break. The facts and statistics about bullying are well visualized for parents and students to comprehend. I found the most important portion of the infographic The 6 Warning Signs that your Child is Being Bullied. After school, our children so often keep to themselves like many other teenagers do. Sometimes they want to chat with friends on OoVoo, listen to music, or text friends until their phone breaks.... Even when they wish for this independence, be sure to keep an eye on their demeanor. Are they retreating into their bedroom with tears in their eyes? Are they skipping dinner? When was the last time they had a friend over? Please look through the warning signs, and if you have any questions, or any red flags are raised in your mind, please never hesitate to contact me.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
SAFEBOOK
I found the poster above on EducationalTechnology.com. It is a concise, easy way for our students to understand the dangers of Facebook, and tips for their privacy settings. The minimum age to join Facebook now is only 13 years old. Although that seems young, I am not foolish enough to believe there are not students on Facebook that are even younger. At such a young age, our students may not understand the ramifications of their words and or actions on Facebook. Please go through the above poster with them and don't be afraid to check their privacy settings to be certain that they are safe.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
MOVEMBER!!!
Gentleman of Waldwick---
As you may have noticed, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. By wearing pink, there is increased awareness of this disease while funds continue to be raised.
What many people do not know, is the month of November is dedicated to men’s health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. In order to raise awareness of these diseases, I am suggesting we join the Movember Movement and GROW MUSTACHES for the month of November.
I have created a Waldwick Warriors Page (http://us.movember.com/team/449897) and hope to get as many students and faculty members as possible to join. Registration is free, and if you have any issues please let me know. You do not need to participate in order to donate, and friends and family are welcome to join our team as well, it is open to the public.
Attached to this document you will find:
*A style guide to different mustache styles: http://us.movember.com/uploads/files/2012/Style_Guide_NA.pdf
*Information about the Movember Movement: http://us.movember.com/
*An overview of the charity is found below---and I am including a link to display where all of the donations go..
*Lastly, you can find our team page here: http://us.movember.com/team/449897
Please shoot me an email or stop by if you are interested in joining and becoming one of my Mo Bros.
--Josh Sussman
Email: Sussmanj@waldwick.k12.nj.us
Twitter: @WMS_Counselor
OVERVIEW OF MOVEMBER
During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo's, these men raise vital awareness and funds for men's health issues, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.
Once registered at www.movember.com, men start Movember 1st clean shaven. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.
Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.
Where does the money go???? --- http://us.movember.com/about/money/
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Do Not Let Your Self-Worth Be Defined By Bullies.
The above video was passed along to me through another Waldwick teacher, and again forwarded to me from a Waldwick parent. Please take the time to watch this video, hopefully with your children, and have an honest discussion with them. Jennifer Livingston makes excellent points in this video about bullying behavior. If your child hears his or her parents making insulting comments at home, chances are he or she will exhibit this language in school through learned behavior. She also reminds us to look beyond the exteriors of others and understand that we are all truly human.
I encourage everyone to please think about the e-mail/text/instant message you are about to send and the intents of your message. Ask yourself, “Is this message going to cause a positive or a negative reaction to the recipient?” Before you make a joke at another person’s expense, ask yourself, “Is the laughter of others truly worth hurting someone else’s self-esteem?”
October is National Anti-Bulling Month. Here in N.J., more specifically, October 1st - October 5th is the Week of Respect. Please use the above video to create conversation with your children or students. And please pass Mrs. Livingston’s message along to them: “Do not let your self-worth be defined by bullies.”
Thursday, September 13, 2012
WHO I AM
In the beginning of every school year, before back to school night, we distribute poster paper to all of our students with the following directions:
“Who
I Am” Posters
Who – All
students will be creating “Who I Am” posters that will display their character traits, interests, etc.
Please include things that you are responsible for
as a student/family/community member.
What – Students will create a poster that will be
displayed in the school hallways.
When – Completed “Who I Am” posters must be handed in to your homeroom teacher by Monday. All posters will be hung up by in time for back to school night.
·
Feel free to talk
to your teachers and other students for ideas!
·
Remember to make
your poster unique! It should resemble who you are as a person and show off the
wonderful traits you have! Don’t be afraid to try 3-D aspects; many students
did last year and they were great!
·
September is the
month for RESPONSIBILITY, your poster should reflect that!
What I love about this assignment is the originality it brings out in all of our students. Every year I cannot wait to walk through the hallways and admire the creativity and uniqueness of all of our students. Some students draw flowers or trees, others draw landscapes or buildings. Between classes I catch students and faculty admiring each others' posters, and learning about one another. Very often I witness students initiating conversations with one another based on their posters, often times in our new 6th grade class.
"Hey, I didn't know you were a Mets fan too??" Or "Wow, I didn't know you listened to One Direction!"
Of course, faculty members are required to create their own posters as well. Here is a picture of my poster..., but I encourage all parents to take a glance of the remarkable student posters at Back-To-School Night tonight. Our students truly did a wonderful job displaying how terrific they really are!
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