The Elm Dale Way:Honesty and Integrity Character Traits
Second Trimester 2016
After highlighting the Character Education trait of Kindness during the first trimester of the 2015-16 school year, we chose to focus on Honesty and Integrity for the second trimester.
We began our efforts with a Kickoff Assembly in January which featured Mr. Mark, the awesome storyteller from the Greenfield Public Library whom you may also know as the talented narrator from our annual Fine Arts Day shows.
Mr. Mark told stories about Honesty and Integrity, including the famous tale “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. Another storyteller, Mr. Peter, also from the Greenfield Public Library, told stories to our young Junior Kindergarten friends.
The Elm Dale staff has been focusing on Honesty and Integrity with our students in a variety of ways. First of all, you may have noticed a bulletin board in the rotunda with the title of "Everyone 'Nose' that Honesty is the Best Policy" and a large picture of the famous Pinocchio. Also, teachers have been reading various books and stories in their classrooms about these important character traits. For example, Ms. Solsrud’s 4th graders read some Aesop’s Fables and discussed their inherent morals. They also examined Honesty/Integrity quotes each week. Mrs. Oberhart’s 1st graders watched and discussed video clips that dealt with being honest. Fifth graders in Mrs. McGath’s class did daily mini-lessons and activities on Honesty and Integrity during the first week of the trimester.
Our youngest Elm Dale students in Mrs. Steigerwald’s Junior Kindergarten classes also learned about Honesty and Integrity. Mrs. Steigerwald demonstrated how telling lies to cover up one’s mistakes is like sprinkling salt on top of ice cream (i.e. making a mistake), and then lying to cover it up (i.e. putting chocolate syrup on top of the salty ice cream). The mistake was still there (the ice cream tasted salty) and lying to cover it up did not help. It is best to simply admit your mistake and then try to fix it when possible. Mrs. Rymaszewski’s Senior Kindergarten class also focused on accepting responsibility for one’s mistakes by telling the truth and owning up to our words and actions.
This trimester, all of our classroom teachers focused on infusing Honesty and Integrityinto reading, writing, and discussion activities in a wide variety of ways.
During the week of February 8-12, grade-level Games Tournaments took place throughout the building. These games emphasized sportsmanship as well as how we should always play games with honesty and integrity. Shutbox tournaments, counting games, a “5 in a Row” math game, and table football played with pennies were just some of the games that were played in the classrooms. The kids had a great time while they were simultaneously practicing these important character education skills.
Please see the attached articles for more information on how parents can teach their children to be honest and to live lives of integrity. If you would like any further information on these topics, or any other topics of “The Elm Dale Way”, please contact our school counselor, Mrs. Starnes, at mstarnes.greenfield.k12.wi.us or at 281-7100, etc. 5525.