Let's be RED!

Everyday at the end of the announcements you might hear me say, "Lets be Red."  Being RED is something that we hope defines the students in our school building but also gives them qualities to shoot for to be great students and great people.  The concept came about this past summer as we were writing a grant for teaching social skills.  These qualities were quickly identified as what we wanted our students to look like as a result of our influence on them.

Resilience is simply the ability to bounce back from adversity.  All kids must be able to experience various kinds of adversity and also be able to regroup and find ways to be successful despite it.  This may come in many forms.  Maybe after failing a test, a student changes their study and preparation habits to help ensure success for the next go around.  Maybe after a tardy detention a student changes their hallway routine to prevent another detention.  No matter how many scenarios you construct, the underlying idea is that student need to learn to fail forward.  Resilient students do not see failure as the end, they see it as an opportunity to learn, improve and move forward.

Being exceptional means being unusually good or special.  Students need to know that they are all different and its okay to be that way.  Seeing and appreciating differences makes kids more tolerant and more open to new people and their ideas.  But also students need to embrace being different themselves.  It is perfectly acceptable to be different and develop strengths based on those differences.  Kids not only need to grow to be aware of others but also aware of themselves.

To be dedicated means that you are devoted to a task or a purpose.  Students must be able to see that they are part of something bigger than them.  Dedication comes from accepting that.  This very RED acronym we are talking about needs to serve as something to be dedicated to.  Maybe a little more study time before TV time.  Maybe visiting a staff member if something is wrong.  Speaking up if you think someone is being bullied or harassed.  It is easy to show dedication when you truly care about your school and the people in it.

So parents, if you were wondering what the t-shirt design is all about and students that were wondering why I want you all to be RED this should serve as what we want our students to aspire to.  Being RED will not only help them be ready for school but ready for life.