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The Peace Squad |
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We just learned that 20 third and fourth graders at George Watkins Elementary are now in the Peace Squad! We're taking over the world!!! Go Wildcats, Go!
Check it out! nkccnews.com/community/2016/06/14/peace-squad-induction-ceremony/
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We had another successful Peace Squad Celebration and Initiation Ceremony today! The celebration took place at the Violet Crown movie theater on the downtown mall. They sponsored a showing of the Jungle Book for us! Violet Crown, that was so kind and we are so appreciative! The kids had an awesome time! Then we came back to school for a short but sweet initiation ceremony! The kids shared with their parents and teachers what they have learned in the program. They performed short skits to show off their fancy Peace Squad tricks. Here is a video that was created by our students sharing why they've chosen to join the Peace Squad. Our friends over at Kate Collins Middle School in Waynesboro started their very own Peace Squad last year after learning about the program at our presentation during the Virginia School Counselors Association conference.
Check out how their program is doing... through this NEWS STORY! I'm sad to say I have no pictures to give you evidence of how great their performance was, but sadly, I do not. You'll have to use your imaginations! We had 45 Peace Squad students in our performance today. Some had stars upon thars, and some did not, they went through a "Star On/Star Off Machine," beautifully decorated by our favorite librarian, Ms. Flowers. But the best part, was at the end, when...
"...I’m quite happy to say. That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day. The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches. And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches. That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether They had one, or not, upon thars." And our very own Silas McLellan tied it all together with a beautifully written speech at the end: "The reason we put this skit on for you was to demonstrate that you appearances are miniscule compared to personalities. The star bellied sneetches thought they were better than the plain bellied sneetches, but really, once they grasped that what they looked like on the outside didn't matter, they began to realize that no one individual is better than another by what they look like. The african americans were thought of as lesser people but really, the name callers were the “lesser” ones. As Martin Luther King Jr said, “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Thank You" These kids are what school counselor's dreams are made of! Can I just tell you how much I love the kids in the Peace Squad? On Friday, September 11, they performed their own play for our school's Kindness Rally (a kickoff to a year-long kindness initiative). The theme for the play was Kindness Grows, and they showed examples of simple ways that students can be kind to each other, including things like helping someone with a heavy instrument, to reporting mean behavior, to offering a seat to someone on the bus. They served as role models for the entire school and the students were really into their performance! Not only did they truly "bring it" for the live performance, but they worked really hard during their lunch period for weeks before the performance to write and practice the play. They were dependable, thoughtful, and truly invested. During our final rehearsal, I asked the students "What kinds of things are you nervous about?" I was sure that they would say that they were nervous about performing in front of their peers, and while a few were, I also heard concerns such as "I'm worried that we will forget to remove some of the props in between scenes," and "I'm worried that other students that aren't in the Peace Squad might feel jealous that they can't be on stage."
They are an amazing, awesome group of people! Here's a picture of us right after the production with our school's Kindness Pledge (which will be signed over the next couple of weeks by our student body): I'm excited to announce the: “Peace is where you make it” Summer Photo Challenge!
Over your summer adventures, take a photo in your Peace Squad shirt or make a peace sign out of whatever you find! Be creative. Share on “The Peace Squad” Facebook page or send it to [email protected] See photos below! Today was a big day for the Peace Squad! It was a day to celebrate the dedication of the students in the Peace Squad, and to share with our families what we've done all year. Starting at 2:00 pm, we took the kids to Jump, the local trampoline park. They were THRILLED and just jumped and jumped and jumped. Then we strolled over to Kohr Bros where we chowed down on their frozen custard. The bus brought us back to the school where we at pizza, donated by Mellow Mushroom. Thanks, Mellow Mushroom!!! At 6:00, parents, teachers and community members came out for the Initiation Ceremony where the students took the Peace Squad pledge to help others and promote kindness. All of this was followed by a reception with cake, donated by Sams Club! See the video that our students made for the ceremony:
A special thanks goes out to Kerry Rock and Emily Holt for funding the Peace Squad for the past 3 years. They are incredibly kind and generous people. Here's a silly thank you video that was created for them: CLICK RIGHT HERE! Check out the promo video, created by my BFF, Katie Jackson of http://www.partytrapstudios.com/
Today we marched in the 66th Annual Dogwood Parade through downtown C'ville. We had a great turn out of 5th and 6th grade Peace Squad students and even had 6 Buford students who were in the Peace Squad at Walker come back to march with us!
The kids really went all out this year with the "wacky tacky attire," which I just loved. The weather was... interesting. As we waited for the parade to start, we were lucky to have little rain. Then it hailed for a few minutes. Fortunately, it kept at mostly a sprinkle during most of the parade itself. We were all pretty wet and pretty chilly by the end, but the kids (and adults) had a great time! Here are some photos, many of which are taken by my BFF, Katie Jackson, who also shot some video of our march, which will come out later. |
AuthorMs. Liz Dinwiddie, School Counselor at Walker Upper Elementary School, will be updating this page from time to time with Peace Squad news and recent happenings! Archives
April 2019
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