By JESSE DAVIS
jesse.davis@goshennews.com
NEW PARIS, Ind. — Students at New Paris Elementary School are learning to express appreciation for their fellow classmates through a program that has them in pieces.
Each week, a student from each 15- to 16-child classroom is chosen at random to be the focus for the “You’re an Important Piece of the Puzzle” program. The class is given a large construction paper puzzle piece with the particular student’s name written on it.
Their classmates then have the rest of the week to write things they like about that person on the piece. At the end of the week, the chosen students have doughnuts and milk with the principal, have their names read during announcements and get to take their puzzle piece home.
“I see them at the end of the week roll their piece up very carefully and take it out on the bus,” fourth-grade teacher John Christner said.
“They enjoy making positive comments, and it creates a positive atmosphere,” Christner said. “I read out loud what the kids say, and I’ll see the student in question stand up a little taller and a little taller and a little taller.”
Last year, the school ran a program called “Helping All to Succeed,” or HATS. The idea for the current program was suggested by Janece Smallwood at an earlier PTO meeting.
“I had seen something like it in a magazine at work and had done something similar before,” Smallwood said. “Some kids get lost in the cracks, and programs like this are important because they are all individual people.”
Smallwood is a member of a school steering committee made up of teachers and parents that reviews the school accountability plan.
Principal Chuck Richards enjoys the program and looks forward to his Friday morning “meetings.”
“What I like about it is that sometime between now and the end of the year, every student in the school will be recognized,” Richards said. “(On Friday mornings) I always ask if they want to share anything, but a lot are still pretty shy about it.”
Other proponents point out the program’s ability to help children learn about each others’ hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes as well as looking at each other in a different light.
Nancy Berger, second-grade teacher and unofficial spokesperson for the program, uses it as a practical teaching tool in addition to its esteem-building basis.
“In the second grade class we’re working on sentences. I use the puzzle pieces to go further and expand,” she said. “It’s a teaching moment.”
The program also includes a large display within the school put together by the climate committee, made up of teachers and staff. The display features interlocking puzzle pieces, one for each class, with the names of all the students of that class written on it and a photo of the students below.
The program started at the beginning of the spring semester. According to Richards, they will probably run some sort of survey by students and parents at the end of the year. Due to the success and popularity of the program, however, he is considering its future.
“It’s not been a lot of work for the teachers,” Richards said. “We’ll probably continue next year then expand on it.”
Local News
Puzzle program promotes the positive
- Local News
-
-
Super Bowl fans warned about measles outbreak
East Coast fans who left the Super Bowl host city feeling good about Hoosier hospitality may have been exposed to something less welcome: The measles.
-
Toledo Symphony, Goshen College choirs in concert Feb. 19
The Toledo Symphony Orchestra and Goshen College choirs will come together under the direction of Grammy award-winning conductor and Goshen College alumnus Vance George for a Feb. 19 show.
-
'Seussical' debuts Friday
Joel Lininger is a 15-year-old boy. He’s also been Tom Sawyer and the King of Hearts. Currently, he’s The Cat in the Hat.
-
Student radio station up for national awards
The Goshen College radion station, WGCS, 91.1, The Globe, has been nominated for 15 broadcasting awards by the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.
-
Council bailout of housing authority not a done deal
Supporters of a $571,050 plan to bailout the Goshen Housing Authority and put the agency back on solid footing left Tuesday’s City Council meeting with new optimism, according to some people who attended the meeting.
-
Goshen winter guard members preparing for their big show
Members of the Goshen High School Winter Guard are working hard in preparation for their last regular season invitational. And that event will be a big one.
-
Police have suspects in theft of charity containers at Walmarts
According to a report by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department, suspects in the recent thefts of donation containers at local Walmart stores have been identified.
-
Museum programs to focus on barns
Two events focusing on historic barns are planned at the Midwest Museum of American Art, 429 S. Main St., Elkhart:
-
New library rental fees set
The Middlebury Town Council amended the Middlebury Public Library's community room use policy Monday, with the primary change being an increase in rental fees for the library's three community rooms.
-
Local artists win at regionals
Five NorthWood High School students won at the 2012 Northwest Indiana & Lower Southwest Michigan Region of The Alliance for Young Writers & Artists.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
