Happy New Year and welcome back from what I hope was a restful break. 

Marengo is committed to integrating character education into the curriculum and encouraging families to make choices according to our 'High Five' of Good Character:  Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, Trustworthiness, and Citizenship.  Over the past three months, we have been focusing on RESPECT from the Marengo 'High Five' of Good Character!  These character traits are taught and reinforced through Second Step, our character education program.

According to the Josephson Institute of Ethics, RESPECT can be defined as, "showing solemn regard for the worth of people, including yourself."  Treating people with respect means letting them know that their safety and happiness matter, that they are important and worthy simply because they are fellow human beings.  The students and staff at Marengo have been working to follow the seven basic rules of RESPECT:

• Honor the individual worth and dignity of others.
• Show courtesy and civility.
• Honor reasonable social standards and customs.
• Live by the Golden Rule:  Treat others as you would want to be treated.
• Accept differences and judge on character and ability.
• Respect the autonomy of others.
• Don't bully; avoid actual or threatened violence. 

As Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Schools teach children about respect, but parents have the most influence on how respectful children become. Until children show respect at home, it's unlikely they will show it anywhere else.

How can you show respect to your child?

• Be honest - If you do something wrong, admit it and apologize.
• Be positive - Don't embarrass, insult or make fun of your child. Compliment them.
• Be Trusting - Let your child make choices and take responsibility.
• Be fair - Listen to your child's side of the story before reaching a conclusion.
• Be polite - Use "please" and "thank you". Knock before entering your child's room.
• Be reliable - Keep promises. Show your child that you mean what you say.
• Be a good listener - Give your child your full attention.

For the rest of the school year we will be focusing on one character trait per month as follows:

January - Responsibility

February - Trustworthiness

March - Caring

April - Citizenship

May - Review of all.

Thank you for practicing and reinforcing these character traits at home.

January is a time for a reflection and resolutions, not just personally but as a learning community as well.   In thinking about what to write for the Pawprint, I turned to one of my favorite posters hanging in the conference room.  Entitled, "150 ways to show you care," this runner reminds me of simple and powerful ways to engage with children.  So many of these suggestions are not new or difficult but I know they are true in connecting with our students.  In reviewing the list, let me mention a few that I want to implement more deliberately in 2011:

# 2   Smile a lot.

#21  Forget your worries and concentrate only on them.

#44  Tell them how terrific they are.

#65   Have fun together.

#68  Tell them how much you like to be with them.

#76  Let them act their age.

#94  Nurture them with good food, good words and good fun.

#138 Tape record or video tape a message for them.

#150 Love them, no matter what.

Like other New Year's resolutions, these promises will need refreshing and reminding.   But I am going to make the vow to work on these areas and create memories that are meaningful for our Marengo children and myself. 

Happy New Year Marengo families!