Chatham County Schools invites students, staff, and community members to nominate students for our “Champions of Character” award! Each month, we'll spotlight one student who exemplifies our character word of the month. This is a DISTRICT-WIDE recognition.
You can read more about the award and what character trait we will be recognizing below.
Submit names now: https://forms.gle/HAzZu2bxDSW2iypEA
As reflected in the Chatham County Schools Code of Civility, we invite students, staff, and our community stakeholders to submit student names for the category they best fall under for the Champions of Character word of the month. Below are the the list of character words listed in the Code of Civility, you may submit a student name for any word reflected on the list. This is open to all students within the Chatham County Schools public school system.
ONE STUDENT WILL BE SELECTED PER MONTH BY THE DISTRICT
Responsibility: October
Scholars who take responsibility take ownership of their work, their actions, and their space. Examples might include: keeping notebooks up to date and organized, attending and arriving to school on time, having a system for taking notes and tracking assignments, communicating when unable to meet deadlines, self-reflection and tracking progress towards goals, caring about the success of classmates by contributing to the shared physical and emotional environment.
Initiative: November
Scholars who take initiative notice what needs to be done, and do it. Examples might include: completing classwork on time, completing work with quality, staying engaged during class, employing tools and strategies to help with my academic work, challenging oneself as a leader and a learner, and asking questions when confused.
Perseverance: December
Scholars who persevere challenge themselves. When something is hard, those who persevere will keep trying and will ask for help. Examples might include: noticing ways our bodies and brains respond to challenges and practicing productive self-talk and other strategies to grow our skills, asking for help when needed, taking academic risks in order to learn and grow, learning from feedback, completing multiple drafts of work so that it is high quality.
Collaboration: January
Scholars who collaborate work well with others to get something done. Examples might include: doing what’s expected in a group and participate appropriately, working independently without teacher oversight when working in a group, taking on leadership roles, making space for classmates to take on leadership roles, communicating effectively with a group, offering peers appreciation and kind, specific, helpful feedback as appropriate.
Empathy: February
Scholars who show empathy try to understand how others feel. Examples might include: listening closely to others perspectives & experiences, asking clarifying questions to understand others’ feelings, affirming other people’s feelings, respecting what others are feeling without criticism or judgment, even when there isn’t agreement.
Integrity: March
Scholars who act with integrity do the right thing, even when it is hard. Examples might include: knowing one’s own values striving to align decisions and actions with values, being truthful, following through on commitments, noticing and taking action where there is unfairness and injustice.
Respect & Compassion: April
Scholars who show respect treat themselves, others, and the environment around them with care. Scholars show compassion by noticing when people are sad or upset, and reaching out to help them. Examples might include: asking for what is needed when it’s needed, accepting that not everyone thinks, feels, or acts the same way I do, not judging others based on stereotypes or biases, speaking only for oneself and not for others, restating others’ comments so they feel heard and acknowledged, being considering or and courteous to others, cleaning up after oneself and helping to care for shared spaces, leaving spaces better than I found them, listening and observing well enough to notice the needs of others, offering help and support to others when and how they need it.
Citizenship & Service to Community: May Scholars work to contribute to a better world by engaging in active citizenship. Active citizens demonstrate an ethic of service and act with agency. Demonstrating an ethic of service means taking the initiative to help one’s school, community, and/or environment in big and small ways everyday. Acting with agency requires taking responsibility for personal growth and to step up as a leader with peers, using one’s strengths to help others grow. Examples might include: Valuing taking action as a member of a community, advocating for community needs, including social justice, environmental stewardship, and healthy equitable communities, collaborating with others to develop plans for taking action, engaging with the community to understand the strengths, needs, and opportunities that exist so that service is most impactful.
Our core beliefs become observable behaviors by teaching, modeling, and encompassing our habits of character in all we do. In doing so, we inspire learning and empower ALL learners to be productive citizens.