October 7, 2004
Volume 2, Issue 1
Peace Week A Big Success At Tatem
We hope you all had
an opportunity to visit
during the week of September
27th through October
1st as we celebrated
Peace Week. Each morning
began with a special
message of character presented
by teachers and
students. Daily topics
included: how to be a
good friend, kindness,
cooperation and lessons of
good character. Each of
the morning messages
are included on page 2 of
this edition of “The Peaceful
School”.
The Magic of Character We were also pleased to welcome Mr. Jim Vagias, also known as “Magic Jim”. Mr. Vagias taught the lessons of responsibility, caring and respect through the use of magic. Some of our students acted as Magic Jim’s assistants during the presentations and the overall response was extremely positive, especially among the younger students. Mr. Vagias was able to reinforce specific traits of character that continue to be demonstrated in our building on a daily basis. In addition, his fun “magical” approach helped make the practice of good character a memorable experience.
Cooperative Physical Education Students in grades 1-5 also had the opportunity for the first 3 weeks of school to participate in cooperative games that developed the skills of team building, sharing of ideas and problem solving. It was fun and interesting to watch as each student learned valuable lessons in the art of cooperation. Read on for more information on some of the great things that happened during “Peace Week” at Tatem.
Tatem Students Lend A Helping Hand to Hurricane Victims in Florida The students in Ms. Licorish’ fifth grade class recently participated in the “Florida Friends” project in an effort to assist the residents of a small community in Florida still recovering from the most recent of 4 hurricanes throughout the summer and fall. The students packed boxes of relief items donated by students, parents and teachers and wrote cards and letters to the residents of Barefoot Bay. The items were delivered to the Community Center there by Ms. Licorish’ dad, a resident of the community. More on this extraordinary effort appears in the latest edition of the “Haddonfield Sun”. Thank you Ms. Licorish and students!
Tatem's Peace Flag Design Contest
Tatem is having a contest! We
are looking to design and create a
flag that can fly along with the
American Flag outside our school
building each day. We would like
our flag to represent our commitment
to the qualities of a peaceful
school building where children can
learn in a safe, kind, respectful and
cooperative environment. Several schools throughout the country, including one close by in
Cherry Hill, have developed their
own peaceful
school models
complete with
flags to promote
these pillars of
good character.…”our flag should represent our
commitment to the qualities of a
peaceful school building where
children can learn in a safe, kind,
respectful and cooperative
environment”...
The design
contest is open to all students and
parents can help. Specific guidelines
for your design will be included
in the Thursday
packet for October 14th,
complete with web-site
information to view
other ideas. We hope
you’ll take a look and
encourage your child to
participate.
Monday: Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Tuesday: Today’s message of peace deals with cooperation and working together as a team. Remember the classic quote: TEAM: “Together Everyone Achieves More.”
Wednesday: Today, we would like to talk about kindness. We should always be kind to our friends, classmates, teachers, parents and family members. Remember, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Thursday: “A person of good character thinks of the feelings of others, sees the good in others, lends a helping hand, cares about people, always does the right thing and puts their best foot forward. Remember, our actions speak louder than our words.”
Friday: Have you ever wondered how to be the best friend you can be? Good friends share, listen, take turns, compromise, show appreciation, make people feel needed and encourage others to do well. We hope you are a good friend today and everyday.
Give Me Five—How To Create Peace In A Noisy Room This Fall, we have brought out an old standby called “Give Me 5”. The five fingers on one hand remind the students that listening requires watching eyes, hearing ears, a quiet mouth, still hands and a thinking brain. It’s amazing how the students have caught on to this simple model and it has been quite effective, especially in the All Purpose Room during lunch and PE. These are also characteristics of good listening skills that can be practiced at home. So, the next time the house gets a little noisy, just say “Give Me 5”. Your children will do the rest.
How Does Peer Mediation Work? As with any new program, there are things we need to practice in order for it to be successful. Developing the skills of conflict resolution take some time, but we are attempting to empower and equip our students with the tools necessary to resolve problems in a constructive and peaceful manner. This will involve some work on our part and the students will need opportunities to practice. We have already begun addressing the many facets of conflict resolution in health and physical education classes and we will continue to reinforce these ideals throughout the year. Specifically, we will cover the following topics:
1. Dealing with conflict.
2. Using “I” messages.
3. Reflective listening.
4. Dealing with peer pressure.
5. Roadblocks to conflict resolution.
6. The “Win/Win” Guidelines.
7. Brainstorming solutions.
8. Anger management
9. Conflict mediation.
Formal Peer Mediation training
will take place in January for fifth
grade students, who in turn, will
train fourth grade students for the
2005/06 school year. As you can
see, it will be a busy but hopefully a
productive year.
The Peaceful School Newsletter
