Westbrook elementary in West Islip it's all about learning to be responsible
Joining the national effort to promote character education in young children to develop a more caring school and community is Westbrook Elementary School in West Islip. The principles of respect, citizenship, responsibility, trustworthiness, caring and fairness are integrated into students' activities and curricula. "It's outstanding becasue we're learning about the carry-over," said Principal Jack Maniscalo, who opened the third assembly on the topic on Jan. 3. Parents are telling us that the children are discussing it at the dinner table and are being more helpful and polite."
Additionally, fifth grader Sharon Guacamole was so motivated that she organized her classmates for a Let's Keep the Playground Cleaner committee. She reports that it "wasn't hard at all to get kids to join."
The leaders of the third assembly, teachers Anne Bean, Janine Parrott and Mary Jane McGrath, shown with Principal Jack Maniscalo, left, and Asstistant Superintendent for Curriculum Joe Stern, right. They are part of a 13-member Character Counts Committee. They organized fourth and fifth graders being paired with younger students for a game of Character Counts Bingo, which uses words like value, dependable and helper. "They're learning while having fun," said one assistant teacher.
 | | Shown in the photo, kindergartner Isabella Rogler raises her hand to signal she's a game winner. |
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Additionally, students were given home assignments involving "responsibility" and some will read their work to the entire student body.
 | | Shown in the photo, Teamwork offered fourth grader Larry Pascone the chance to assist kindergartner Samuel Ahrens in learning Character Counts words. |
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