Elementary students learn giving is better than receiving
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Schools are more than just places to learn facts; they are communities. One of the ways the East Troy Community School District teaches children about working and interacting in a community is with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
According to pbis.org, “PBIS is an evidence-based three-tiered framework to improve and integrate all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. PBIS creates schools where all students succeed.”
The goal of the three-tiered system is to provide regular, proactive support while preventing unwanted behaviors in students; identify at-risk students and provide support earlier; and provide individualized support to improve behavioral and academic outcomes when needed, according to the website.
At Prairie View Elementary School in East Troy, the PBIS programming includes learning about emotions and character traits.
“We take one character trait each month and focus on it,” Principal Mark Weerts said. “We started out with kindness at the beginning of this year and moved to gratitude in November and in December, we focused on generosity, because it’s the season of giving.”
Weerts said the administration and staff at Prairie View wanted to changes thing up a bit in December.
“Usually we have our focus trait for the month and we reinforce the good behavior with support in the classroom and school and each month we have an assembly and the kids can receive awards like the Golden Shoe when they demonstrate exemplary awareness of that trait.
“This month, we are focusing on generosity. We decided that instead of ‘awarding’ students we would model this trait. So, each grade level has chosen a cause or charity to donate to this month,” Weerts continued.
Along with the class projects, Little Prairie/Prairie View art teacher Jenny Arpin worked with the kids to create more than 500 cards for veterans and active duty service members.
At the Dec. 4 PBIS assembly, Arpin told the kids that their gift of cards was greatly appreciated.
“The person who picked them up started crying because they were so proud and happy,” she said at the assembly. “They said they had never seen that many cards at one time.”
When the students heard this, they cheered loudly, adding to the excitement of the day.
In the classrooms
Each grade at Prairie View came up with a whole-class project to give back in December and presented their project at the PBIS assembly.
The fifth graders held a food drive for the East Troy Food Pantry and learned that food insecurity was a lot closer to home than many of them realized.
During the presentation, one of the fifth graders said they realized how important it was to donate because so many people used the pantry.
“They learned a lot about the need in the community,” Weerts said.
The fourth-grade class decided to take care of their school grounds and lend a hand to the school’s custodial staff. After noticing a little clean up was needed, the students spent time picking up trash at the school, collecting more than 250 pounds of trash.
The students said they needed to take responsibility for their school and recognized that the paid staff shouldn’t have to clean up the grounds alone.
The third-grade class made blankets for sick kids and their families, which were donated to the Ronald McDonald House.
“Third graders love to help others, as well as working on craft projects. The students started by raising money through a coin drive to help offset the costs. They asked parents for donations of fleece,” third-grade teacher Andrea Keane said. “The third-grade teachers introduced the idea of donating the blankets to the Ronald McDonald House after we found out their blanket supply was quite low.”
The kids also watched how the blankets would be used. Donations also came in from Koskinen Eye Clinic and other East Troy families.
“Students asked their parents and grandparents to help make the blankets at school on Dec. 10. Residents from The Heritage were asked to come and help make blankets along with East Troy High School students, too,” Keane said.
Corrina Lueptow, from the Ronald McDonald House, came to Prairie View mid-December to pick up the blankets and meet the third graders. She talked briefly about what the house does and how much the blankets would be appreciated.
The kids excitedly helped Lueptow pack up the blankets and load up her car.
