{Positive Rewards}

This school year, we have learned how to manage our time in 9 week blocks. The school year consists of four 9 week grading periods. Somehow 3 grading periods have already passed us by which means that the kids are officially in their last 9 weeks of the school year!!! It is a bit hard to believe that we are winding down to end of the year activities. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be preparing for a kindergarten graduation and a 5th grade promotion ceremony. HA, and you all thought I was in denial before when I was about to gain an 11 year old! =)



One of the things that I really love about this school is the motivational tools that are provided for the students. The teachers and the administration really go out of their way to try to provide those little extra incentives that help the students WANT to reach a little further. Students truly have the ability to shoot for the moon.


After each 9 week block, students are recognized for all of their efforts in areas such as grades, Accelerated Reading (AR), and attendance. They have special awards for the kids who worked hard at improving their grades and the kids who show great leadership roles around school. The school also has several little reward programs that are offered all around the school on a daily basis. The classrooms usually hold weekly or monthly goals that they try to meet and the ones who meet their goals are rewarded with a little something special.


This is the first year that we have all three kids receiving report cards. It has been quite amazing to watch how far they have all come. They have all done extremely well in school. So far both Bryanna and Kalyssa have made the all “A” honor roll at each awards assembly. They are both shooting for a full year of straight A’s. Unfortunately for Trav, kindergarten doesn’t get to participate in the awards assembly. The kindergarten wing hosts a special celebration for their extraordinary 5 and 6 year olds. We have participated in events like bounce house fun and chalk and bubble day.

I do have to brag just a little about Bryanna on this one because she truly busted her bum to reach her academic goal for these 9 weeks. She has worked hard at keeping her grades in every subject above 90%. There was one math test that she took that knocked her grade down to a “C”. She was absolutely devastated. She was so worried that she wasn’t going to make the honor roll. She really came down hard on herself. We sat and talked about it a lot. It broke my heart to see her so sad about one grade. I know how hard she works and how much effort she puts into school and to watch her beat herself up over one test really broke my heart. I did my best to reassure her but I am slowly learning that some of her qualities follow closely behind her moms...She wasn’t sure what was going to happen but she put one foot in front of the other and kept pushing forward. In a matter of 3 weeks, she was able to turn that “C” to an “A”!! When she got up on stage to receive her award, we learned that she was the only one in her homeroom to receive the all “A” honor roll award. Her teacher took a minute to recognize her achievements.

The AR program is quite big at school and both girls absolutely love to try to meet their reading goal. For the third 9 week grading period, the kids who met their AR goal got to participate in some pretty fun activities. Each grade did something a little different.



First grade held a "Sock Hop". The kids got to dress up in their best 50’s attire. They attended a Sock Hop full of music, dancing, and they even got to drink a soda pop.

The fifth graders got to choose what they wanted to do by voting. The winning votes allowed those who met their AR goal to dress up as “Tacky Tourists” for the day.

I love that the kids are able to participate in these little extra events for reaching their goals. I will admit that being able to wear “street clothes” is a pretty big deal for my kids but, these little touches make school that much more rewarding. I am a big believer in positive reinforcements. I truly believe that children should be made to feel as if they can achieve the impossible. They also need to be able to look forward to something. If they accomplish their goals, they should be recognized and rewarded for all of their efforts. Children need reassurance as well as positive feedback from all of the adults in their lives. This past week I was asked by the principal and the school counselor if I would consider taking a position as the parent representative for the Positive Behavior Support System Team for next year. I was so honored that they considered me to be a part of this amazing program. This school works really hard at trying to keep the students motivated. They do so many things that I have never seen before and I am so excited that I get to work directly with the teachers and the school administrators to help provide a more positive environment within the school setting.    

 If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.

~Ignacio Estrada