Personalized learning and conflict resolution were two of the programs highlighted by the Nikolaevsk School principal at last week’s Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting.
Principal Mike Sellers introduced two elementary students — Eli and Nate — who recapped the initiatives for the school board
“Warrior Way is respectful, responsible and safe and Community Circle is like when you go in and you talk about your problems that you solved with your classmates and then you can also put aside that and put in your success.”
The students, whose last names and grades were not given, continued describing other ways students are taught to reject bullying.
“As a demonstration, you say ‘stop,’ and thenif they keep doing it, you should say ‘stop’ again and walk away. And then if they keep doing it, you say ‘stop’ one more time and then you go to the teacher. And ‘Stop, Listen, Love’ is when you ask them stop and then if they do it, you can listen to them and then you basically include them and play with them.”
Principal Sellers pointed out that the students themselves have helped create these programs.
“‘Stop Listen,Love’ actually grew out of talking with their teacher right,” he said.
“And the principle,” interjected one of the students.
“(We thought) that maybe ‘Stop Walk and Talk’ that we needed to go to past that let the kids who are ready to go to it,” said Sellers. “Maybe some of those kids weren’t being very nice because maybe they just needed more love in their life and needed to be included in some things and so that's what they came up.
“And they didn't say much about it, but the community circle is actually the kids idea they brought it up to the teachers and you guys can do that at any time, right?”
“You do it, technically during recess, after recess, you ask your teacher just to make sure it's okay and then you make a circle and you talk about your problems that you need to fix and things that happen that you enjoy,” the student said.
