Knight Note Class Winners - September

Ms. Pinales (Class 102) poses with her class after winning the certificate for having the most "Knight Notes" in 1st grade.

At the end of every morning announcement, students hear:

"With something to think about, this is Mr. Cantu.  Make it a great day...or not.  The choice is yours."

These words, along with some Words of Wisdom, support our Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) System.  This is a proactive approach to establishing the behavioral supports and social culture that are needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional and academic success.  Our students are encouraged to make good choices in their classroom, in the hallway and in the cafeteria.  Students that show positivity, respect, integrity, determination and excellence (P.R.I.D.E.) are rewarded with "Knight Notes".  Those classes that receive the most "Knight Notes" are rewarded with a certificate at our monthly P.B.I.S. Celebration.  Winning classes are also given a choice of an extra period in the gym with Mr. Lagares, eating lunch outside with the principal or chosen teacher, or free time with Ms. Lennon in the computer lab.  See photos below of the "Knight Note" class winners for the month of September!

Class 220 - Ms. Salce

Class 304 - Ms. Corporan and Mr. Beller

Class 420 - Ms. Fernandez, pictured with Mr. Lagares - Physical Education Teacher

Class 483 - Ms. Cevallos (Teacher) and Mr. Campozano (Paraprofessional)

Class K20 - Ms. Nuez

Kindness, Honesty and Responsibilty at PS4M (VIDEO)

A student from Ms. Salce's class (221) shows kindness as he helps his classmate tie his shoe.

Kindness, honesty and responsibility can be seen in every classroom throughout the day, at PS4. Our students can often be seen bringing money that they found to the principal's office, apologizing to their teachers and friends about something they did wrong and helping classmates with a problem.  Teachers support and enhance these positive character traits by using a program called Project Wisdom.  This program is an intentional effort to help students understand, care about, and act upon core ethical values. Students with good character are caring, just, and responsible. They have developed an internal motivation to do their best and to contribute to the world around them. Good character education improves social and emotional competencies as well as academic performance.  This program has been helping students make wiser choices since 1992 and has been licensed to more than 19,000 schools across the nation!  At the end of every morning announcement, students hear:

"Be kind, be responsible and be the best you can be. The choice is yours.  Have a great school day!"

This is a component of the Project Wisdom program! Teachers spend a few minutes after morning announcements to have a brief discussion with students.  In addition, they may follow-up with a writing assignment for classwork or homework.  A new character trait is featured each month.  They are:

• September - Responsibility
• October - Respect
• November - Honesty/Dealing with Anger 
• December - Tolerance
• January - Citizenship
• February - Perseverance
• March - Kindness
• April - Setting Goals/Positive Attitude
• May - Courage/Caring
• June - Success/Gratitude

To learn more about Project Wisdom, click here!  Then, check out the video below featuring students in Ms. Marmolejos and Mr. Nycz's class (502) as they act out stories that involve a very important character trait: honesty.


Honesty Video (Class 502) from PS4M on Vimeo.