Celebration of Good Character at elementary

As the level of balls rise in the entryway window display at Creekside Early Childhood School, it means only one thing: Students are grasping the meaning of being safe, respectful, responsible problem-solvers.

The display is the school-wide indicator of positive behavior. Whenever a student is recognized as practicing one of the school’s core values, they get recognized on morning announcements and get to throw another ball into the “bucket.” When the bucket fills up, it means a school-wide celebration of their success.

The second celebration this year happened this week. To match the school’s motto, “Creekside Cares,” the celebration focused on serving others. Students took a break from class to make cards for military veterans and assemble welcome kits for kids at a local homeless shelter.

“The idea to have this event as a service project was to build upon our recent Kindness Challenge and turn a school celebration into an opportunity to serve others,” said Creekside Principal Linda Pavlinac.

The “Bucket Challenge” has become a standing tradition at Creekside and supports a concept known as Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS). It’s a model for character education that all Lakota schools, and grade levels, have adopted in recent years to help reinforce positive behavior among students. It takes many different forms across Lakota schools.