Principal's Column

Dear Parents,
The faculty and students have been busy supporting, guiding and developing a new learning and leadership opportunity for our students at Greeley. 
We have named this new project, “Kids Leading Kids”.  Please take a moment to read the article that follows.  It is a detailed description of the wonderful work that the children have been involved in.

Warm Wishes,
Susan
Kids Leading Kids

What is a hero? Can heroes be leaders? Is there a hero among us, right here at Greeley School? Am I a leader? Can we really make a difference? What can one person do? These are just some of the questions that fourth grade students at Greeley have been exploring and asking themselves since our ‘Kids Leading Kids’ project was initiated on October 16.

Fourth grade is an opportunity for self-discovery, development of leadership qualities and positive exchange of ideas through participation in a variety of positive group experiences.  With that in mind, fourth grade teachers embarked on a unique social and emotional learning experience. They challenged the fourth grade students to take advantage of a leadership opportunity to teach the younger students about bullying and at the same time, recognize their own potential to be a leader. Students were excited about the challenge and were eager to be part of the solution once they identified and defined the problem through their own voice.

It started with a simple idea and then it just took off! Through an informal fourth grade student survey, some problems on the playground were identified. They included: physical issues, such as pushing and hitting, seeing other students being mean to each other, peer pressure, excluding others and name-calling.  A lesson on bullying was then presented to all fourth grade students. Our goal was to have students understand what bullying is, to develop a common language, and to see themselves as proactive problem solvers that can teach and lead other students.

Grouped across the grade level, the fourth graders had an opportunity to learn with other classmates from different fourth grade classes. Within their groups, students explored four types of bullying behavior that can occur in any setting. They are verbal, physical, social and intimidation. Students reported that verbal and physical bullying are easy to recognize, however social and intimidation bullying are a bit harder and often require the ability to pay attention to that ‘inner voice’ that tells you that something doesn’t feel right.

After reflecting on what the four types of bullying look like, feel like, and sound like students moved into small groups to organize and create skits that would identify a problem, provide a solution and teach a lesson around a particular type of bullying behavior. Additionally, students had the opportunity to explore hero songs, reflect on the meaning of the word hero and then if they wished, compose songs about heroes under the guidance of our music instructor, Mary Jo Ferneding.

Students’ efforts resulted in two ‘Kids Leading Kids’ assemblies, which were presented to the first, second and third grade students. On November 21, the fourth graders presented a variety of powerful and beautiful hero songs written by the students themselves. The students displayed poise as they sang songs that reflected the virtues of courage, tolerance and compassion when faced with challenging social situations and peer pressure.

The final assembly on December 13, led by fourth grade students, included a brief lesson about bullying as well as the presentation of a variety of skits that dealt with bullying behavior.  They ended the assembly with the song, ‘We’re all in this Together’.  The song symbolizes the following: once you become a part of the solution, you can’t ever forget it. It becomes part of everything you do! Fourth graders came away feeling proud of what they accomplished.

It is our wish that all students embrace the true meaning of hero and leader by reaching out to others with empathy and courage, to support each other, and to act with integrity when called upon to make a tough social choice.

As we approach the New Year, we will offer additional leadership opportunities for our fourth grade students.  Stay tuned! There is more to come!  You will be hearing from our students who are the ‘Kids Leading Kids.’ 

In closing, that I leave you with one final thought to inspire us all. 

“Unless we are supporting the emergence of greatness in the people around us, we’re not doing our full part to help heal the world.”   
 From The Gift of Change by Marianne Williamson.

 

Warm Wishes for a Peaceful Holiday,
Kathy Powers

(To learn more about Bullying and tips to help your child, please go to
www. teacheq.com to read, Banishing Bullying: How to Keep your Child from Being a Victim or a Bully.  By Ed Dukelblau, Ph.D.