As we turn the corner from the Halloween celebrations throughout the schools and community, we are focusing on the theme during the month of November around the fundamental value in our educational journey: Responsibility.  Intertwined with our academic goals for each student, we aim to help promote students to be responsible in the classroom, in school, and in life.

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Lange School as Mrs. Samosky introduced the concept of Responsibility to our Kindergarten students.  She shared a book by G.H. Paxton called "The Responsible Rabbit."  The story is about a rabbit who shares his story of becoming a "Behavior Buddy".  When young, the rabbit would just play at home while his room became increasingly messy. He also chose not to help with chores around the house despite requests from his parents. The rabbit also had a habit of losing his homework and coat at home since he didn't put away his belongings.

With the help of his family, the rabbit made a plan to put things away to remember where they were and prevent them from getting damaged. The rabbit grew happier in remembering to do things without being told and for keeping track of his belongings.  At the end of the story, the rabbit shares his pride in being responsible.

Through guided questions, Mrs. Samosky read the story and engaged the kindergartners in the learning. Afterward, she shared the following scenarios, asking students to classify whether it was the responsibility of the student, the parent, the teacher, or the custodian: putting a student's coat away, picking up trash on the classroom floor, cooking a meal, helping another person to read, or getting ready for school in the morning.

I applaud our educators for intertwining the learning around our character words.  As we continue to build our classroom and school community, we realize the importance of helping students, regardless of age, to build a sense of personal responsibility to become better learners and citizens.  I hope we all take time this month to help reinforce concepts and foster conversations to support our students to be more responsible.

#OneOakwood