As we continue to strengthen our culture on The Janssen Way, we look for multiple ways students learn (Gardner) to reach ultimately each child in them understanding and practicing The Janssen Way.   In an elementary school setting, providing spatial/visual stimuli for students provides them multiple direct and indirect opportunities to make meaning of The Jansssen Way.  This approach to learning is complimented by interpersonal learning in the classroom and intrapersonal learning during our Morning Paws.  We also integrated kinesthetic learning for our students during our Bulldog Olympics in September.  These are just some examples on how our staff is working together to build The Janssen Way culture.  I have attached our newest display (targeting spatial/visual learning)--located on the corner of Janssen Way and Paws Parkway (pic.twitter.com%2FieY5BO4z ) in our building.  Here is your link: pic.twitter.com%2FVOz2asgn.

Principal Nikolaou

It is so great to see our students in class, during transition time, using our Janssen Way body and line basics.  I have seen a decrease in transition times as students go from one learning experience to the next.  Our teachers, if needing to prompt, use the Janssen Way vocabulary to have our students building capacity on what to say around the focus of the Janssen Way.  Oh, almost forgot, bathroom basics, so awesome that our students are reducing their time and noise in the bathrooms.  They rock, WOOF! WOOF!

The Janssen Way At Home

When you have our students sharing with the entire Morning Paws crowd how they use the Janssen Way at home, it just shows you that they are finding value with what we are working with them at school.  It is also important to mention the lens through which our teachers are seeing the Janssen Way.  In other words, they are seeing these practices at school easily connect to the home, and more importantly initiate the connections with families to allow for students to make the transfer knowing about the Janssen Way and using it.  It is when you hear our students using the Janssen Way vocabulary in their neighborhoods that we see evidence of transfer--and it is happening in pockets of neighborhoods.

Thank you!
Mr. Nikolaou

Our principal chair has found its way to the 3rd grade.  Our practice is to select from our dog bones a winner on Friday and that students gets to sit in the principal's chair for a week.  I will come in the classroom and have another student take a picture of the recipient and myself.  I will send the photo to the parents via email with an explanation of how the student becomes the recipient of the principal's chair.  Our students truly enjoy the experience and our parents are very grateful for sharing this experience with them.  

In working within the premise of The Janssen Way--PBIS, parent communication/awareness is essential.  We are making connections between The Janssen Way and homes by having our students transfer their meaning and ask them to include their parents to reflect how they use The Janssen Way concepts in their home.  During our Morning Paws our staff members will be modeling this connection by informing our students how our staff uses The Janssen Way in their homes.

Finally, I would like to share the impact that our Morning Paws is having on our tardies.  Last year at this time, 8% of our students received at least 1 tardy to start of the school day.  For this year, we have started off very strong with only 4% of our students receiving at least 1 tardy.  We have no students who have received 2 or more tardies at this time.  One of the purposes for Morning Paws, since its inception three years ago was to reduce morning tardies.  Based on the data that I have shared, we are seeing the positive impact Morning Paws is having with our students.

Sincerely,

Mr. Nikolaou

Every day we come together as a school during our Morning Paws.  Each week a community values theme is delivered and shared with our students.  Our premise is to continually prompt our students thinking for them to secure their background knowledge on our 4 Community Values:  Honesty, Kindness, Respect, and Responsibility.  Securing their background knowledge yields making meaning of why it is important to practice the Janssen Way through these values.  More importantly we want our students to be able to transfer this background knowledge independently when making decisions--to make good decision.   Our Morning Paws on a daily basis reminds, encourages, and teaches making good decision for one's self and others.  The impact is seen in the decreasing office referrals for our upper elementary students and a more keen awareness from our lower elementary students.  This process we have is valued by our staff, thus their daily commitment to 'remind, encourage, and teach' our students is embedded in what they do for our students.  Over the last three years, we have built a critical mass, as a staff, around the Janssen Way.  Our Morning Paws is one example of our commitment to better serve students. 

Thank you!   Mr. Nikolaou