January 2013 Character Counts! Newsletter Frederick County Public Schools In this issue: Frederick, Maryland In 1996 Frederick County Public Schools adopted Character Counts! as Message from a character-education program for grades PreK through 12. The 1998 Board of Shari Ostrow-Scher 13 Education Vision Statement, which proclaims “The Frederick County public school system educates its students to become caring, respectful and responsible citizens and family members,” reflects the Character Counts! six Ballenger Creek Elementary 3 Pillars of Character. Ballenger Creek Middle 7 Each of our schools has implemented the Character Counts! program. School administrators, teachers, support staff and volunteers design and Career and Technology 2 Center present a variety of related activities throughout the year. We invite Character Counts! coordinators from half of the schools to submit articles for the fall Carroll Manor Elementary 7 newsletter. The remaining schools present articles in the spring. Crestwood Middle 8 Emmitsburg Elementary 10 Trustworthiness Lewistown Elementary 11 Be honest. Don’t deceive, cheat or steal. Be reliable—do what you say you’ll do. Have the courage to do the right thing. Build a good reputation. Be loyal—stand by your family, friends and country. Liberty Elementary 12 Respect Linganore High 11 Myersville Elementary 6 Treat others with respect—follow the Golden Rule. Be tolerant of differences. Use good manners, not bad language. Be considerate of the feelings of others. Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone. Deal Tuscarora Elementary 9 peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements. Responsibility Frederick Fair FFA 4-5 Character Counts! Winners Do what you’re supposed to do. Persevere—keep on trying. Always do your best. Use self-control. Be self-disciplined. Think before you act—consider the consequences. Be accountable for your choices. Fairness Play by the rules. Take turns and share. Be open-minded—listen to others. Don’t take advantage of others. Don’t blame others carelessly . The Character Counts! newsletter is published twice a Caring year by Janet Shipman, Shari Ostrow Scher and Pat Baisey for Frederick County Public Be kind. Be compassionate and show you care. Express gratitude. Forgive others. Help people in need. Schools. For more information please Citizenship call : 301-644-5220 or 301-696-6852. Do your share to make your school and community better. Cooperate. Stay informed—VOTE! Be a good neighbor. Obey laws and rules. Respect authority. Protect the environment. Congratulations! The following students have been selected as 20122012----20132013 STUDENTS OF CHARACTER at the Frederick County Career and Technology Center Brunswick HS Gov. Thomas Johnson HS Tuscarora HS Stephen French Caitlin Asmonga Jordan Smith Deanna Kinzie Jhanae Jones Daisya Boyd Meg Bergman Carm Saimbre Nasreen Khan Jessica Grisez Long Ho Jannette Valin Blessed Chigonera Jordan Safford Catoctin HS Tabitha McGaha Ella Silvera Bridget Bittner Denise Pearch Josh Epstein Thomas Bryant Katherine Sims Kekeli Tossah-Accoley Logan Barrick Ellen Merlos Wyatt Farmer Caitlyn Lowe Oakdale HS Maria Hamscher Theresa Schrider Reagan Hamrick Linganore HS Breana Tyeryar Danielle Kaufman Cole Pattison Kaitlynn Portner Jacob Murphy Phillip Kolb Morgan Harding Walkersville HS Natalie Tugwell Craig Etchison Frederick HS Krystal Knott Julia Grimes Levi Hooper Dayquon White Pia Toloza Middletown HS Kelly Hernandez Nu Te Troy Grove Katherine Majano Trinh Nguyen Garrett Radtke Noelle Chavez Peter VanGrootenbruel Mallorie Parlon Eric Fong Sam Ashley Catania Jordan McLane Urbana HS Emily Webb Erica Adjei Brianna Reece Rosie Umana Kristi Lee Jake Patterson Casey Lammers Hanna VanVlerah Esther Shafer Jacob Watkins Character Counts! Newsletter Page 2 Ballenger Creek Elementary School By: Liz Sherman It has been a busy year, so far, for Character Counts! at Ballenger Creek Elementary. After being named a Maryland State School of Character for 2012, we were asked to present our Character Education program at the Maryland Center for Character Education annual meeting at Stevenson University in October. In addition, we shared our program at the November Board of Education meeting. We continue to infuse character education into our daily routine at Ballenger Creek through PBIS, Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, student programs such as peer mediation, student ambassadors, fifth grade jobs, counseling lessons and special projects and even our school song. Morning announcements share character-themed messages, reminders to “stay on green” and acknowledgement of good things happening at school (individual, classroom and school-wide) and things that our students do in their community. Students learn that being a student of character at school then translates to what we do in our communities outside of the school day as well. We recognize good character on a daily basis. Students demonstrating good character earn Positive Paws. Classes can earn “Class Paws” during their Specials and “Mini Paws” for demonstrating respect and responsibility in the hallways and cafeteria. Students and staff who go above and beyond, making extraordinary efforts to contribute to a positive school climate can be recognized with a “Top Cat” Award. Top Cats are named on the morning announcements, called to the office for a positive recognition/certificate and parents are notified with an explanation of what their child did to earn this prestigious award. Top Cat staff members are given recognition and may choose, for example, a 30-minute leave early pass, administrative parking space for a week or extra planning time, etc. This year for Character Counts! week, in addition to wearing colors corresponding to each pillar of character, students were asked to sign and decorate a Kids for Character Pledge, signifying that they would demonstrate the pillars of character. Each student completed a link which was made into a Chain of Character and hung in the hallways. The prompt “I am a student of character because I …” was followed by hundreds of ways that Ballenger Creek Elementary Bobcats show good character every day. At the beginning of the year the counseling lesson focused on diversity. As part of the lesson, each student and staff member decorated a paper handprint. On each finger of the hand they noted such things as how they are unique, family traditions/heritage and good character traits that they show. These were displayed during American Education Week. Our families who joined us for a special American Education Week Breakfast Program decorated a hand as well. All of the beautiful hands are displayed in the cafeteria showing the wonderful diversity at our school and how we are respectful of each other and our uniqueness. Visual reminders about character are found throughout our school building. From the Code of Conduct reminding students to be respectful, responsible, safe and ready to learn, to the character- named street signs and the Ramp of Responsibility to individual classroom student-generated posters and projects, good character is evident at Ballenger Creek Elementary. Character Counts! Newsletter Page 3 FCPS and The Great Frederick Fair Recognize FFA Members from Each High School The Great Frederick Fair has a tradition of recognizing a student of character from each FFA chapter in our high schools. These students have experienced the Character Counts!!! program since elementary school and are exemplary models of good character, who make their families, schools and communities proud. In a ceremony at the fair on September 14, 2012, FCPS Character Counts! coordinator Janet Shipman and Career and Technology Education Curriculum Specialist Kristine Pearl presented each 2012 Character Counts! student with a certificate recognizing good character. Listed below are each of the award winners with a description of their character as provided by their FFA advisors. From Brunswick High School — Tori Poole. Mr. Harrington describes Tori as sincere and forthright. She is dependable and is willing to try new things even if they are hard. Tori can be trusted to do her best on every assignment. She is currently serving as president of the Brunswick FFA. In this role, she has taken on many responsibilities such as working with new members on yearly activities. Tori is active in the Brunswick community. She has volunteered at the Brunswick Senior Center to help senior citizens create flower arrangements and other crafts. She is quick to lend a hand whenever she can and is proud to be an active part of the Brunswick community. From Catoctin High School – Shelby Hahn. Ms. Poffenberger characterizes Shelby as a caring, hardworking individual who is dedicated and determined to complete any job regardless of the skill level. She exhibits the character qualities necessary for close interaction with staff, students and community members. In addition to her high school courses, Shelby is earning college credit through the University of Maryland with programs focusing in Natural Resources and Agriculture. She carries a weighted GPA of 4.14 and is an active member of the Catoctin High School National Honor Society. In addition to her academics and responsibilities as FFA vice president, she has participated in Dairy Judging, Dairy Foods, Parliamentary Procedure and Horse Judging Career Development Events. She always has a positive attitude and is willing to help with activities and projects whenever she is needed. From Frederick High School – Joyce Oh. Joyce is an extremely trustworthy