This Month's Best Practice

Each Month the Maryland Center for Character Education (MCCE) picks one of the Best Practices from a Character Education award winning school to share with you.

FEBRUARY

This month's Best Practices is from an award winning school from 2004-2005.

 

BEST CHARACTER EDUCATION PRACTICES

 

School: South Shore Elementary School

Address: 1376 Fairfield Loop Road, Crownsvills, MD 21032
Contact: Deborah Williams, Principal
Phone: 410-222-3865
E-Mail: ddwilliams@aacps.org
              

 

Title of Best Practice: Doing Our Best to Be the Best------ Building Community through Service Learning

Primary Character Trait(s) Emphasized: Initiative, Respect, Kindness, Uniqueness, Individuality, Cooperation, Compassion, and Generosity

Objective(s): The purpose of our service learning initiative is to prepare our students to make effective contributions to the community, inspire them to give and do their best and encourage them to use reflections on their experiences for personal growth.

Brief Description (including such items as materials needed, persons responsible, sequence of activities, observable results, references, etc.)

Brief Description: “If we are to reach real peace in this world . . we shall have to begin with the children.” – Mohandas Gandhi

 

Activities:

•   The vision of South Shore Elementary School’s character education program, “Doing Our Best to be the Best” is threefold. Since 2000, the school has been carefully and thoughtfully focusing on:
         —Building Character by encouraging students to take responsibility for their choices and actions.

        —Building Self-Esteem by motivating students to do their personal best.

        —Building Community by inspiring students to contribute to the world around them while honoring the diversity that makes our country great.

•   Our highly successful program has proven to be a positive force in contributing to a school environment that is peaceful and orderly and conducive to teaching and learning.
  
•   South Shore Elementary School provides a learning environment in which students, staff and parents embrace the tenets of character education.

•   During the 2004-2005 school year, the following monthly values were taught, expected, modeled, practiced and celebrated by both students and staff: Initiative, Respect, Uniqueness, Peace, Orderliness, Kindness, Courage, Joy, and Patience.

Building Community: Involving the 264 South Shore students in service learning programs is a powerful means of developing positive character in our students. We have impressed upon the students that being a good student means far more than academic success, character is as important as academics. Recent service learning opportunities assisted the students in developing initiative, respect, kindness, individuality, cooperation and compassion. Our service learning projects covered a variety of common service learning themes, including the environment, hunger, and homelessness.

 

The following school-side projects helped the students develop their character and promote school spirit:

• Baltimore Zoo Fundraiser – student initiated project to raise money for the zoo.

• Food donation to the Anne Arundel County Food and Resource.

• Chesapeake Connections Club – the fifth grade students participated in an environmental club to help with restoration projects for the Chesapeake Bay. Developing stewardship for the environment, students in the club enhanced the native gardens at South Shore Elementary and create a rain garden to improve drainage. The fifth grade students also raised and released diamondback terrapins, native to the Chesapeake. In addition to raising native animals the students grew redheaded by grass and planted the grass in the bay to enhance life in the Chesapeake Bay.

• Veterans Day Celebration to honor local veterans of the armed forces.

• Harvest for the Hungry – Kids Helping Kids Food Drive to benefit the Anne Arundel Food and Resource Bank, Inc.

• Dance Team performances at Sunrise Senior Living of Annapolis.

• Valentines for Vets project.

• UNICEF Tsunami Relief Efforts.

• Pennies for Patients Fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

• Anne Arundel Count’s PLANT Community Programs – planning and caring for trees within the school and community helping to provide shade, wildlife habitat, beautification and contribute to the health of the Chesapeake.

• Maryland PLANT Community Program – in recognition of tree planting and care activities.

Character education has been a positive force at South Shore Elementary School. The tenets of character education are embraced by the staff, students, and parents of the school. At South Shore we are doing our best to be the best!

 

 

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The Maryland Center for Character Education
29 West Susquehanna Ave., Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21204

Phone: 410-823-4902
Fax: 410-828-9661
E-Mail: MCCEcharacter@aol.com