Character Banner Words Doorway Competition
In the 2010-11 school year, the Character Education Committee at Thomas Stone devised a list of 10 "Banner Words" that describe qualities associated with highly ethical and moral individuals. During this school year, these words were placed on banners along with the phrase "Cougar Pride Is" and were strategically placed throughout the halls to increase awareness of the characteristics among our students. For the 2011-12 school year, the committee decided to pair each banner word with a month of the school year. The word was linked to the month based on a specific day or tradition that we celebrate each month. The committee felt that as good as the intentions of targeting the words are, the reality is that unless some type of activity is specifically implemented, students may not be impacted. It was at this time the idea of a voluntary door competition was suggested. The idea was that for each month, teachers would have their students brainstorm ways to decorate the classroom door to display the meaning of the character banner word for the month.