Superintendents discuss various initiatives
Sep 09, 2008 - 10:25 AM
DURHAM -- It was all about character for two public school board superintendents presenting at a recent meeting.
Team work, responsibility, respect, perseverance, optimism, kindness, integrity, honest, empathy and courage are character attributes important to the Durham District School Board, heard those at its Sept. 2 standing committee meeting.
The words, chosen based on community input, will be listed on posters, banners, and bookmarks in schools so teachers can reference it for attributes.
"I think they make a real statement," said Pickering Trustee Chris Braney, referring to the banners.
Whitby Trustee Christine Winters even saw the character words near the hopscotch at a local school she visited, written in English and French.
In their presentation to the committee, superintendents Joe Hircock and Lisa Millar discussed various character education initiatives local public schools are involved in, such as Pickering's Pine Ridge Secondary School's 'I am the Change' program, Durham Directives, Bully-Free Schools, community partnerships and a character education resource document.
They're most proud of the character education resource document because they started from scratch on it last year, Ms. Millar said.
All schools received a hard copy of it and a CD, and a half-day inservice/working session with administrators will also be held. Document highlights include character education and effective schools research, 11 practises of effective character education, goal setting, character audit, graphing results and money to purchase supportive resources.
Pine Ridge current and graduate students were on hand to discuss 'I am the Change' and its initiatives, such as healthy lunches and food for thought. Its programs have decreased suspensions for opposition to authority, increased healthy food sales in the cafeteria, and provided free breakfasts to students, they said in their presentation.
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