October is anti-bullying month and one of our goals at DMS and in all Dade county schools is to stomp out bullying. At DMS as we are trying to create a “one-anothering” community. When I say this to parents and teachers, they often ask, “What does this mean? What does this look like?”
To help answer these questions, let’s look at our Parent / Teacher and Student Mission Statements.
PTO Mission Statement – “Parents and teachers partnering together in a positive way that supports all aspects of the school in order to change community perception & increase academic achievement through commitment, communication, volunteerism & fund raising.”
Student Advisory Council – “We strive for academic success, bonding between grade levels, and making the school fun through competition.”
As a principal, I am so proud of our student and our PTO mission statements. Did you notice any common threads in these two independent statements? “Bonding”, “Partnering”, “Success”! Even though these mission statements were written independently in separate settings, they have the same theme. They both speak to a “one-anothering” community and in doing so they help us find answers to the bigger question of stomping out bullying. UNITY! When we are unified, bullying ceases, because we don’t bully those with whom we are united in a common cause.
Sometimes our children are not the only ones that bully others or are bullied themselves. Sometimes adults are guilty of the same offense. When we adults bash one another or our school system on social media just because we don’t like something, this has the potential to escalate into bullying. This is not the model we want to set for our children. There are going to be frustrations as we disagree, but that is because we are so passionate about our children succeeding. If we can routinely step back and recognize opportunities to model positive responses for our children as we unite to make a better educational environment for them, I think we will find a community where the word bullying has no meaning.
This month we will be providing opportunities for students, parents, and teachers to UNITE together. These events will culminate with our 1st annual 5K and 1 mile fun run/walk on October 31st from 9AM-11AM at the high school. This will be a fundraiser for our PTO and the funds raised will allow the PTO to support activities for parents, students, and teachers to come along side each other and get their hands dirty in common unified causes.
Potential PTO initiatives include:
Please attend and participate in the 1st annual DMS PTO 5k and 1 mile fun run/ walk!
As we come together and unite our students will succeed in a safe bulky free environment!
To help answer these questions, let’s look at our Parent / Teacher and Student Mission Statements.
PTO Mission Statement – “Parents and teachers partnering together in a positive way that supports all aspects of the school in order to change community perception & increase academic achievement through commitment, communication, volunteerism & fund raising.”
Student Advisory Council – “We strive for academic success, bonding between grade levels, and making the school fun through competition.”
As a principal, I am so proud of our student and our PTO mission statements. Did you notice any common threads in these two independent statements? “Bonding”, “Partnering”, “Success”! Even though these mission statements were written independently in separate settings, they have the same theme. They both speak to a “one-anothering” community and in doing so they help us find answers to the bigger question of stomping out bullying. UNITY! When we are unified, bullying ceases, because we don’t bully those with whom we are united in a common cause.
Sometimes our children are not the only ones that bully others or are bullied themselves. Sometimes adults are guilty of the same offense. When we adults bash one another or our school system on social media just because we don’t like something, this has the potential to escalate into bullying. This is not the model we want to set for our children. There are going to be frustrations as we disagree, but that is because we are so passionate about our children succeeding. If we can routinely step back and recognize opportunities to model positive responses for our children as we unite to make a better educational environment for them, I think we will find a community where the word bullying has no meaning.
This month we will be providing opportunities for students, parents, and teachers to UNITE together. These events will culminate with our 1st annual 5K and 1 mile fun run/walk on October 31st from 9AM-11AM at the high school. This will be a fundraiser for our PTO and the funds raised will allow the PTO to support activities for parents, students, and teachers to come along side each other and get their hands dirty in common unified causes.
Potential PTO initiatives include:
- Helping to support the creation of a cross country course and community walking track.
- Teacher technology
- Farm to school – building raised beds.
Please attend and participate in the 1st annual DMS PTO 5k and 1 mile fun run/ walk!
As we come together and unite our students will succeed in a safe bulky free environment!