My goal for our classroom is that every student has a positive environment in which to learn.  In order to accomplish this goal, we have certain expectations for the students.  They are as follows:

• Listen to others when they are speaking.

• Be kind to each other.

• Follow the directions.

• Be respectful.

• Smile!

In order to promote these expectations, we will have a colored chart system in our classroom.  The system’s colors goes as follows:

• Green: Great!

• Yellow: Miss five minutes of recess

• Orange: Teacher's choice

• Red: Oh-No! (Principal’s office)

Your child will have a clothespin that starts on green each morning.  Any time one of the expectations is not met, your child will be asked to move their clothespin to the next color on the chart.  At the end of the day they will be asked to take out their behavior calendar and color the date.  This is a great way for both you and I to monitor your child’s behaviors in school. 

If there is a severe behavior such as hitting, swearing, stealing, or disrespectfulness, your child will automatically receive after school detention.  You will be notified immediately if this were to occur. 

The main focus in my classroom will be on positive behavior.  I have individual and whole class reward systems to encourage this behavior.  Individually, I am going to have a “lunch bunch” system.  Anytime I catch your child going above expectations or I think they are behaving better than the rest of the class, they will have an opportunity to receive a lunch bunch card to go into a big bucket.  Once a month, I will randomly draw out 5-10 students from the bucket to be a part of my lunch bunch for that day.  Basically, the students will be allowed to eat lunch with me on that day and they will receive a special treat after the lunch is over.  There is no limit to the amount of lunch bunch cards that can be earned in one day.  My students in the past have loved this and it is a great way for me to point out positive behaviors.

For whole class positive behavior I have what is called, “Award Winning Behavior”.  When the whole class does something that really sticks out in my mind as positive behavior, they will earn a paper trophy to be displayed in the room.  For every ten trophies they earn, we will hold a mini-celebration.  The possibilities for these celebrations are endless and it is a fun way to recognize exceptional behavior.

I have always believed that it is better to focus on the positive behaviors of children than always dwelling on the negatives.  Pointing out positive actions allows that child to be a model of appropriate behavior for the rest of the class.  If I continue to point out the positive, it tends to eliminate most of the negative.  My classroom is a safe, positive place for all children to be comfortable in.  I believe with this behavior system, it will enable us to have an awesome year together.  If you have any questions or concerns with this system, please feel free to contact me.