Filling buckets with respect at Jay Elementary

By Barry Matulaitis,
Editor

JAY – Students at Jay Elementary School have focused on having respect for one another this fall, and the result has been an improved school atmosphere, said social worker Jen Stone.
“We come to school to learn, but we need kids to be enthusiastic about learning,” she said. “We need to have them learn to have respect for their environment, such as picking up after themselves in the cafeteria, and respect for their classmates. It's about respect.”
On Monday of last week, Buddy Week kicked off with a Civil Rights assembly and a skit. Children were encouraged “Don't be a bystander, be an upstander”, and urged to stand up to bullying. Music teacher Dan Labonte prepared a song to go along with the skit.
“We've been doing a lot,” said Amy Gatchell of the Franklin County Children's Task Force. “We started off the week with a play of how to stand up against bullying.”
The students learned to discuss bullying, disclose instances in which it has been occurring, double check to make sure their fellow students are safe, and defend their classmates against bullies. Gatchell said a primary focus is the disclosure aspect and getting the students to report incidents.
On Tuesday, students went over acceptable behavior guidelines on the bus. They also played cooperative games at recess.
Friday was an extra special day for the children. They had the chance to to sit with peers that they normally wouldn't sit with during lunch. To do this, they drew names of labeled tables out of a hat.
The tables were decorated with tablecloths and flowers, and Labonte performed live music. Students earned the meal thanks to reaching a goal of 500 acts of kindness. They became “bucket fillers” by treating one another with respect and being recognized for good deeds by their peers.
During the lunch, they signed a pledge banner promising that they would be good citizens. Stone pointed out that the students would make an ongoing effort through the year to be “bucket fillers”, striving to achieve goals set by the principal and improving the social and learning environment at Jay Elementary.