Pontiac Elementary School News

Greetings, Pontiac families!

March often feels like a “lull” in the school year.

I thought March would be a good time to invite someone who has tackled these issues head-on with great results. This week, we spent the day as a staff with our Leader in Me coach, Dana Penick. Dana is a former elementary school principal and is invested in transforming schools across our country through the implementation of the Leader in Me. She recognizes that there is great value in helping students find their voice, become leaders, and problem solve.

So, what is the “why” behind The Leader in Me? We started the process because we had multiple items in place to extrinsically reward students for making positive choices, but we were not adequately reaching them intrinsically. As the process has taken shape, we continuously revisit the why. This past summer we revisited our school vision and mission. This is the vision we identified as a staff: We will strive to create a community of joyful leaders and learners where everyone feels valued through meaningful collaboration, effective communication, and an appreciation of individual strengths. This says it all, I think. We are working toward creating better people, not just high- achieving students.

It is important for us to keep this “why” at the forefront. It is our goal that every decision we make at Pontiac is built around this vision. When we are implementing a new instructional strategy, we plan as a staff to implement using collaboration, communication, and valuing students’ strengths. We celebrate milestones. For example, we share examples of students’ success in our community on our news show. Because of this focus, our staff knows an appreciation of students’ individual strengths is a Big Rock at our school.

This time of year, with state testing right around the corner, it is important for us to sustain motivation and momentum. It is important to infuse new activities that inspire and motivate students during this challenging time of year. For example, our Student Council is planning a walk to honor our very own students that have Hydrocephaleus. We hope you and your family will attend! In addition, we are motivating students to achieve their MAP Target Growth goal this month by hosting Dancing with the Stars with our Global teachers! It is important to inject some fun and energy into this time of year.

Although our implementation is in the infancy stage, our students have staff have already experienced great benefits from The Leader in Me. We are beginning to share a common language centered around the 7 Habits. Our students want to come to school, and they look forward to new, exciting leadership opportunities. Students are participating in multiple leadership roles, including the School Store, Safety Patrol, Flag Patrol, and Green Steps.

The Leader in Me supports other school and district initiatives. The Leader in Me is not another thing to do. The Leader in Me is the operating system that makes everything we do better, stronger, and more successful.

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Website https://goo.gl/WVXoF Facebook https://goo.gl/poial8

Twitter @PontiacElem Phone 803-699-2700

Address

500 Spears Creek Church Rd.

Elgin, SC 29045

Principal Dr. Katie Barber

Assistant Principals Mrs. Jennifer Gillespie and Mr. Taurean Robinson