SPIRIT WEEK HAS BEGAN... DAY 1-PAJAMA DAY
I was so excited about Spirit Week (SW from here on out) that I forgot that I wanted to make something breathtaking for the kids. I had so many things to do and just not enough time. I will be better prepared for Nerd Day tomorrow though. As I stated in the previous post I wasn't sure if I was going to let my 6th grader participate in the celebration because of his grades. I asked him to think over the weekend and let me know why I should let him attend. He came to me with reasons that just didn't make any sense, like: because I'm going to be the only one in my classroom who isn't dressed like everyone else. I sent him on his way and told him to think like a 6th grader and not a Kindergartener like his sister.
He finally said that he would try his best to get much better grades for the next marking period. That's all I was looking for; him to put forth some type of effort and talk to me like he had the knowledge of a 6th grader. Now on to my 3rd grader. I made his pants and was so excited, I completely forgot to pick up a shirt from my favorite store Dollar Tree. I went the following day when I got off work. I was all set to put his name and something catchy but funny on there and he hands me a slip stating that he couldn't participate in SW.
I asked him why of course. He told me because he didn't reach an 85% on his color chart. If you've never heard of the color chart, I'll tell you a little bit about it. The scholars have a chance to get on different colors during the day. Red is the absolute worst and means you had to be talked to repeatedly during the course of one day. Following behind red is none other that orange. Orange is also a not so good color and it means you had to be talked to at least twice about something. Yellow is sort of borderline, you're stuck in the middle. In the 3rd grade you start out on yellow. You either earn a card change up or you can go down to the red or orange. Green is a good day. Green actually means you have had no warnings at all. Blue would be the next one meaning you BEAMed all day (Be quiet, Eyes and Ears on the speaker, Ask and Answer questions Move your eyes with the speaker)
If you happen to have a Purple day (this isn't given out carelessly, you have to SHINE and BEAM) you will get a positive phone call home. Their school has a no hitting policy. My home has a if it's a girl tell the teacher and if it's a boy you better hit him back policy. Can you see where these two do no coincide at all? Well last school year my then 2nd grader was bullied and was afraid to go to school. When he would tell about another child picking on him, the teacher would say: I didn't see it. So does that mean that it didn't happen. When you have 23 children you can't keep your eyes on every last one of them. It's impossible. You expect 2nd graders to act accordingly.
My 3rd grader was afraid to go to school and was crying everyday. The boy cornered him in the washroom and pushed him on the wet floor and he hit his lip and chipped his tooth. Once he saw the blood he figured his life was over. I told him the next time the little boy picked on him and actually hit him he was to hit him back as hard as he could and if he got in trouble with the school that I would talk to someone because no child should be afraid to go to school.
No one picked on him during the rest of that school year. This school year has gone pretty good so far. However last week, another kid in his class kept pushing him. My son has a high tolerance for BS, you can only do so much before he goes off though. He asked the boy repeatedly to stop. He didn't, so my 3rd grader choked him. They both got into trouble. In the midst of it all my 3rd grader lost his SW privileges along with talking when he wasn't supposed to and other silly things third graders do. The choking put his color chart score way below average though, him ending up with a 72, 13 points away from 85. He isn't disappointed in the fact that he got an 85 and the boy hasn't picked on him since.
Hey I guess you can't win them all!
Here's a couple pictures of them from SW!
He finally said that he would try his best to get much better grades for the next marking period. That's all I was looking for; him to put forth some type of effort and talk to me like he had the knowledge of a 6th grader. Now on to my 3rd grader. I made his pants and was so excited, I completely forgot to pick up a shirt from my favorite store Dollar Tree. I went the following day when I got off work. I was all set to put his name and something catchy but funny on there and he hands me a slip stating that he couldn't participate in SW.
I asked him why of course. He told me because he didn't reach an 85% on his color chart. If you've never heard of the color chart, I'll tell you a little bit about it. The scholars have a chance to get on different colors during the day. Red is the absolute worst and means you had to be talked to repeatedly during the course of one day. Following behind red is none other that orange. Orange is also a not so good color and it means you had to be talked to at least twice about something. Yellow is sort of borderline, you're stuck in the middle. In the 3rd grade you start out on yellow. You either earn a card change up or you can go down to the red or orange. Green is a good day. Green actually means you have had no warnings at all. Blue would be the next one meaning you BEAMed all day (Be quiet, Eyes and Ears on the speaker, Ask and Answer questions Move your eyes with the speaker)
If you happen to have a Purple day (this isn't given out carelessly, you have to SHINE and BEAM) you will get a positive phone call home. Their school has a no hitting policy. My home has a if it's a girl tell the teacher and if it's a boy you better hit him back policy. Can you see where these two do no coincide at all? Well last school year my then 2nd grader was bullied and was afraid to go to school. When he would tell about another child picking on him, the teacher would say: I didn't see it. So does that mean that it didn't happen. When you have 23 children you can't keep your eyes on every last one of them. It's impossible. You expect 2nd graders to act accordingly.
My 3rd grader was afraid to go to school and was crying everyday. The boy cornered him in the washroom and pushed him on the wet floor and he hit his lip and chipped his tooth. Once he saw the blood he figured his life was over. I told him the next time the little boy picked on him and actually hit him he was to hit him back as hard as he could and if he got in trouble with the school that I would talk to someone because no child should be afraid to go to school.
No one picked on him during the rest of that school year. This school year has gone pretty good so far. However last week, another kid in his class kept pushing him. My son has a high tolerance for BS, you can only do so much before he goes off though. He asked the boy repeatedly to stop. He didn't, so my 3rd grader choked him. They both got into trouble. In the midst of it all my 3rd grader lost his SW privileges along with talking when he wasn't supposed to and other silly things third graders do. The choking put his color chart score way below average though, him ending up with a 72, 13 points away from 85. He isn't disappointed in the fact that he got an 85 and the boy hasn't picked on him since.
Hey I guess you can't win them all!
Here's a couple pictures of them from SW!
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