“Respect for you, Respect for me, Respect for Our School Family” is the new school respect motto heard every day during morning announcements at Kisthardt Elementary School. The students chose and voted on this motto as a response to Principal Stevenson’s September mandate to be a school known for respectful behavior.
The mandate was followed up with the week of October 5, 2015 dedicated as “Kisthardt’s Week of Respect”. Teachers from PreKindergarten to Fifth grade engaged their students in a variety of activities that generated classroom discussion, modeled and celebrated respect.
Classroom teachers discussed “WinWin Strategies” as a method of empowering students to handle conflict in a respectful and peaceful manner. Each day, during morning announcements, a fifth grade student read a quote about respectful behavior to the student body. Each class demonstrated what they learned by creating beautiful class poster about respect and displayed in the school lobby.
Along with the week’s respect theme, the school held an assembly for peace on October 6, 2015. Students gathered in silence in the all-purpose room while the lights were dim. A single candle lit the auditorium. EmmaLee Lazo, a fourth grade student, sang a song about peace. The students listened to Principal Stevenson give a short exhortation and exited the room in silence.
