St. Jerome’s Catholic School Embraces Positivity

This article was submitted by Amber Spence, an experienced educator at St. Jerome’s School in Los Angeles, where she teaches 8th Grade Homeroom. With nine years of teaching experience in Los Angeles schools, she brings a strong commitment to helping students build positive relationships and develop character strengths like gratitude.

At St. Jerome’s Catholic School, we are falling for The Positivity Project. Every morning the 2nd Grade students enter Ms. Mary Deason’s classroom with energy and excitement. They get settled for the day and start with The Positivity Project.

Starting Each Day with The Positivity Project

In October, they got a chance to learn not just about all things fall but about but about the importance of showing good character. These character strength lessons are so important for giving students the language to speak about how to engage with each other in a positive way. Giving students appropriate language to name how they would like to be treated and how they should treat others is the first step in building a true community where people look not just to care for themselves but to watch out for each other.

Ms. Deason also said “I truly enjoy the Positivity Project in the classroom. It enriches the students by introducing character strengths with interactive and hands-on methods to build a school community.”

Teaching Character Strengths Through Hands-On Activities

In her fall lesson, they didn’t just talk about how to treat others; they made positive pumpkins. Following a discussion on how words and actions affect others, each child was given a paper pumpkin. The students were told to write positive words on the pumpkin that they would say to a friend.

The children filled their pumpkins with positive words of encouragement and practiced saying them out loud to classmates. The practicing of positive affirmations helped her students show bravery during an activity that could be scary. The lessons’ hands-on components keep students engaged and practicing these character strengths on a daily basis and in a fun, seasonal way.

Using Videos to Help Students Engage with Character Strengths

On top of the hands-on activities, Ms. Deason enjoys the video component of character strength lessons. These help the students to access the material in a different way so that each and every student is fully engaged in the daily lessons and activities. Many students today are keyed towards short videos and the ones chosen by The Positivity Project are particularly engaging.

The videos are an effective tool to help children process positive character qualities. They are concise and entertaining, providing students with insight into the importance of having good character. My class looks forward to these life learning videos that display how people should behave and treat each other.

Middle School Gratitude Lessons That Last Beyond Thanksgiving

Middle School has also been completing lessons aligned with the seasons. Mrs. Amber Spence, the 8th Grade Homeroom teacher, particularly enjoys the lesson cycle on gratitude, coming as it does so near Thanksgiving. These lessons encourage not just a day of gratitude but an attitude of gratitude that suffuses their levies throughout the year.

The science behind this is powerful, being thankful improves your outlook of the world especially when practiced daily.

The students had an in depth discussion on cultivating an attitude of gratitude even about things that seem negative. Students seemed to really embrace this attitude and start putting it into practice immediately.

Mrs. Spence commented “It is so nice to see a program embrace something that I try to do in my daily life that has mountains of research to back up the practice.”

Putting Gratitude Into Practice Across Grade Levels

This week the Middle School and 2nd grade also put Gratitude into practice. Middle Schoolers made gratitude leaves as a way to explore the things that they were thankful for; while 2nd graders made gratitude cards to put their lessons into practice. Each class was able to slow down and find a space to start practicing gratitude daily.

Building Mastery Through Weekly Character Strengths Instruction

The pacing of The Positivity Practice also leads towards mastery and fully embodying each character strength. Students are engaged in learning about one strength each week with multiple days of videos, instructions, and activities.

On top of this, The Positivity Project builds in spiral reviews periodically to help remind students of the character strengths and the larger picture of the 5 principles of the Other People Mindset.

Three Years of Positive Outcomes at St. Jerome’s

St. Jerome’s has been using The Positivity Project for almost three years and we are starting to see wonderful outcomes. Students are kinder on the yard during play time, recognize when they have misstepped and take positive steps to fix peer relationships.

Teachers encourage their students’ positive behaviors and interactions using any of the 24 character strengths that may apply. Teachers also help students to recognize where they can improve their behaviors using the same phrases.

Teachers at St. Jerome are truly trying to build a special community where each student is given the power to create positive relationships with their peers, parents, and teachers.