Discipline

In any productive classroom, communication, and positive reinforcement are key to maximizing student achievement.   The word discipline does not mean punishment for misbehavior. The word discipline means basically “to teach."  Through discipline and my classroom management procedures, I will teach my students how to behave with positive reinforcement rather than punish them for not knowing how to act in school. For most students, they need to know the correct way of how to act and learn in school.

We will also be having lots of fun learning in Kindergarten. In order to enjoy the activities and lessons, it is each student’s responsibility to conduct himself/herself in an appropriate manner. I try very hard to create an environment in which each child feels welcome and successful. Therefore, I want your child to behave because they respect all the other people in our classroom and enjoy being a part of our class!

Only working together can we encourage positive behaviors and good choices.  I will use a variety of positive reinforcement strategies to promote positive student behavior at school.  Students will have the opportunity to earn treasure box selections, stickers, cheers, special helper jobs, and other special rewards.  Although the focus of my discipline plan is positive reinforcement there will be consequences for inappropriate behavior. 

Our behavior lessons are based on the Isle of Wight County GREAT and GRIT documents:

 

At the end of each day, I will notify you of your child’s behavior by placing a quick message or stamp in your child’s agenda. 

Classroom Expectations

1.    Follow Directions Quickly

2.    Always do Your Best Work

3.    Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself

4.    Be a caring friend - Use kind words

5.    Listen when someone is talking

6.    Use appropriate voice level

*0=Silence

*1=Whisper

*2=Inside Voice

*3=Outside Voice

The first few weeks of school I will be modeling what these expectations look like and sound like.   The students will be role playing situations that will also reinforce positive behaviors.

Rewards and Consequences

If a student stays makes good choices, he/she will receive money.  The student will keep his/her money in their money bag. It is the student’s responsibility not to lose their money.

Each week, I will let students use their money (by the way, it’s all fake!) to purchase something from  “Mrs. Branch's school store”. If you would like to donate small, inexpensive store prizes or candy, please feel free!

In addition to this individual reward system, the class also earns marbles in a fishbowl for “Caught Being Good.”  When they achieve their marble goal they earn different special events like popcorn, get to bring a stuffed animal to school, etc.

 If a student has some difficulty making good choices, he/she will not receive money for the day and will be given additional instruction in that area to make better choices. 5 or 10  minutes of recess will be used to reteach this lesson. For severe behavior, a discipline referral will be made to the office.