P2 Palooza Brings Lake Orion Families Together District-Wide

This article was submitted by Gretchen Hynes, principal of Stadium Drive Elementary in Lake Orion, Michigan. A longtime champion of The Positivity Project, Gretchen has been involved with P2 since 2017 and helped bring the program to Lake Orion during its earliest stages. Principal Hynes, her team, and educators from across Lake Orion’s six elementary schools came together to plan the district’s first-ever event designed to unite families for an evening of character strength building, bonding, and connection.

This year, Lake Orion Community Schools in Lake Orion, Michigan, serving nearly 6,400 students from Developmental Kindergarten through 12th grade, hosted its very first district-wide elementary P2 Palooza, and it exceeded every expectation.

From One School to a District-wide Movement

Our P2 journey began when Carpenter Elementary became a P2 partner school in the 2017–2018 school year. By 2022, all six LOCS elementary schools and three LOCS middle schools had become official P2 partner schools, embedding character strengths into daily learning and culture across our DK–8 buildings.

When Stadium Drive Elementary was pursuing Green Shield status in 2023, conversations began about creating a district-wide meaningful family engagement opportunity centered around P2. In the fall of 2024, the Elementary P2 Leadership Committee, comprised of 1–2 staff representatives from each building, began working on bringing that dream to a reality. With no budget to start with (pulled it off with $600 in the end), but plenty of passion, the team collaborated for months—sharing ideas, navigating roadblocks, and envisioning an evening that would truly bring our community together.

A Night Designed for Families

The goal was simple yet powerful: Create a space where families could experience the P2 character strengths together, where children could teach their families, and families could discover their own strengths, and meaningful conversations could happen side by side.

The result? More than 20 interactive stations, each centered around a character strength:

🎨 Creativity – Families designed and created their own personalized P2 Shields to wear, showcasing their unique strengths.

🎨 Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence – A mini art show featuring student artwork from every building.

🚒 Bravery – Hosted by our local fire department

📚 Love of Learning – Partnered with our township library 

🔎 Curiosity & Open-Mindedness – Explore new games, learn a new skill, teach a skill to someone else—and be open to something new.

⚖️ Fairness – Play a simple but fun game while practicing following the rules.

💛 Forgiveness – “Rewrite the story” by writing a forgiveness note and shredding it as a symbolic fresh start.

🙏 Gratitude – Create a family gratitude jar to continue the practice at home.

🌳 Humility – Add a leaf to your school’s “Humili-tree,” recognizing that we all grow stronger together.

😂 Humor – Learn about gelotology, the study of laughter, read some jokes, then grab props for a funny family photo at the photo booth.

🧭 Integrity – Explore “What Would You Do?” scenarios and discuss making strong character choices.

💙 Kindness – Create a family kindness calendar filled with simple, meaningful acts.

👣 Leadership – Participate in a “Let Me Lead You” activity focused on trust and guidance.

💕 Love – Families designed custom coffee sleeves that were donated to local coffee shops—including the student-run coffee shop at Lake Orion High School, spreading LOve, encouragement and positivity throughout our community.

☀️ Optimism – Create an upbeat family playlist to stay energized and hopeful—or talk through difficult scenarios with optimistic outcomes.

🎯 Prudence & Purpose – Develop a family mission/vision statement and set goals for the future.

🎭 Perspective – Engage in family “Would You Rather?” prompts to see situations through different lenses.

🤝 Teamwork – Take on the hula hoop challenge and human knot challenge together.

🎵 Self-Control – A lively game of musical statues, and can you wait until you get home to eat the piece of candy you received?

📖 Enthusiasm – What energizes you? Share it on your  school’s lightbulb  poster, then read Shel Silverstein poems with and without expression/enthusiasm.

✈️ Perseverance – Paper airplane flight contests, push ups, and cup stacking challenges.

🎭 Social Intelligence – A spirited game of emotions charades.

In addition to the 20+ character strength stations, the Mindful Moment stations offered calming strategies, breathing exercises, and reflection prompts modeling for families how small, intentional pauses can strengthen emotional regulation and connection at home.

Each station sparked conversation, laughter, reflection, and meaningful moments between parents and children.

Community Support Made It Possible

Every family was welcomed with a P2 canvas bag or reusable grocery bag—generously donated by P2 and our local Meijer. Bags were filled with P2 and Lake Orion swag, plus a flyer with QR codes to the P2 Character strengths survey and the P2 for Families page. The bags also served as a place to keep all their goodies they won, created, or collected at the stations.

Attendees were also entered into a raffle for a P2 backpack (one per school building) packed with water bottles, hats, shirts, a blanket, a lunch box, and more.

Student Leadership in Action

The event was held at Lake Orion High School and was powered by nearly 70 student volunteers, many of whom experienced P2 themselves during their elementary and middle school years. Watching them lead stations, mentor younger students, and model the character strengths in action was one of the most inspiring parts of the evening.

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

Because this was our first year, we truly did not know what to expect.

We estimate that over 400 families attended the event. The energy was electric. The connections were genuine. The pride in our district was undeniable. Families bonded. Students led. Community partners showed up. And character strengths came alive in a way that extended far beyond the school day.

P2 Palooza was more than an event—it was a celebration of who we are as a community and the strengths we build together. We are already looking forward to expanding and growing this tradition in the years to come.

Lake Orion is stronger—together.