GRAVETTE -- Six students at Glenn Duffy Elementary were honored last week as PAWS Students of the Month for February. The Glenn Duffy Elementary PAWS ("Pawsitive" and Wise Students) program incorporates character education and positive behavior into the school community. Each month, PAWS skills are chosen and discussed in classroom guidance in relation to character education. Honest is the word for this month. This is defined simply as telling the truth. Grandmother Willow from the movie Pocahontas tells us, "Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one."
PAWS award winners for this month are Jadon Estep, Troy Glover, Macie Holzkamper, Izabelle Motsinger, Matthew Soper and Mylee Woolard, all of Gravette. PAWS awards are given in the classroom, hallway and cafeteria as an incentive for students to practice the PAWS skill for the month. The students were recognized at the monthly Rise and Shine assembly and each was presented a T-shirt sponsored by the Glenn Duffy Elementary PTO.
Bella Vista fire chief Steve Sims and Mrs. Kelly Dostart, a volunteer from the Bank of the Ozarks, were special guests at this month's assembly. Sims taught the children about being honest. He mentioned how difficult it may seem when children have to decide the honest thing to do is to tell on a friend who makes bad choices that could harm someone. Sims also spoke of how important honesty is to a firefighter. Firemen need to be able to trust each other and the people they are trying to help, so they must be honest. Sims and Dostart shared information about a contest to name a new fire truck. The Highlands will soon have a new fire station and the Glenn Duffy students were challenged to come up with a name for the new truck. The winning classroom will get to tour the new station when it opens.
Kindergarten teachers presented a short lesson about the social skill "waiting for your turn." This skill was emphasized this month as part of the school's Positive Behavioral Support System. While practicing this skill, students were told they should 1) get into the listening position, 2) take a deep breath and count to five, 3) say, "I know I can wait for my turn," 4) listen to what is being said or watch what is happening, and 5) walk away and do something else if waiting is too hard. Kindergarten teachers are Kristi Sanders, Misty Harris, Mary Jo Norberg, Christina Hartman, Teresa Spencer, Autumn Phillips and Tabby Crane.
Community on 02/10/2016