Sept. 30, 2024-- Thanks to the school's behavior and attendance committees, Intermediate South is taking a wide-range approach to meeting its goals. And they didn't waste any time getting started.
To begin the second full week of the school year, Sept. 16 through 19, representatives from COMPASS (Creating Ocean Monmouth Prevention And Supports for Students) visited the school to present "Be The Change - Putting An End to School Violence and Bullying.” The presentation used social and emotional learning to teach students how to prevent, react, and reduce violence and bullying in school. Sixth-grade students were clearly eager to participate, and learned the importance of being an upstander, not a bystander. On its final presentation day, Compass offered “Be the Change" exclusively in Spanish to support the school's ML learners.
Armed with lessons in empathy and kindness, it's likely no coincidence that Intermediate South had a whopping 24 students nominated last week alone for its "Caught in the Act" program, which is exactly what it sounds like-- catching students red-handed in acts of kindness, and recognizing them for their spontaneous benevolence.
"To have that many students nominated in one week was a major success in kicking off the Character Program/Kindness Initiative," said Assistant Principal Casey Daniel.
School leaders are well aware that in order for these initiatives to have maximum impact, they need buy-in not just from students, but from their parents, guardians, and families as well.
Which is why, in addition to many other forms of communication, school administrators hosted brief, face-to-face meetings with parents during their children's lunch periods earlier this month.
"We discussed expectations within the building, our Character Program, and the expectation of no violence in our schools," said Daniel. "We had a huge turnout and it was extremely successful."
This push for kindness inside and outside of school will continue with monthly “Coffee with the Administration” meeting beginning in October.
Tucked away in the borough of Beachwood, it might be easier to keep a low profile. But when it comes to kindness and character education, Intermediate South itself has been caught in the act.