Woodbridge school helps students take care
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer

COURTESY OF GERALDINE RINALDO Members of the student council at the Mawbey Street School No. 1 hold a plaque the school received for being a Community of Caring school.

WOODBRIDGE - With the sounds of "We're All in This Together" from Disney's "High School Musical," the students of the Mawbey Street School No. 1 showed why they are a Community of Caring school.

The school began its third year as a Community of Caring school with a pep rally in September.

Lead teacher Jennifer Bost led the rally as students sang and danced and relayed the school's core values of responsibility, respect, trust, family and caring.

"We all work toward a common goal as a Community of Caring school," said Bost. "This encompasses every student in our school, including our special-needs students."

Bost said the music from "High School Musical" was chosen by one of her fifthgraders last year.

"He told me to listen to the lyrics," she said. "Now we have been playing their music at the pep rallies, and the kids love it."

Principal Geraldine Rinaldo became principal three years ago and worked with Bost to create a Community of Caring school.

Bost attended training and has attended national conferences.

"All schools can become a Community of Caring school, but they don't have to be," said Rinaldo.

Community of Caring is for grades K-12. It is a comprehensive, research-based character education program with a unique focus on disabilities, adopted by almost 1,100 schools nationwide and in Canada.

In 1982, Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the program to care for young people with intellectual disabilities and to reduce the incidence of intellectual disabilities by reducing teen pregnancy.

The program promotes social inclusion of all children, encourages civic responsibility, and emphasizes the teaching of values everywhere, whether it is in the classroom or the hallway, from the cafeteria to the playing field.

"We have renamed the hallways so it will remind the students of the core values during the day," said Bost.

The lower hallway has been renamed Responsibility Road, the upper hallway has been renamed Trustworthy Trail, the main hallway has been renamed Family Freeway, the playground has been renamed Respect Runway, and the lunchroom has been renamed The Caring Center.

"We have developed a school family tree in the lunchroom that will have everyone's name on the tree," said Bost. "This shows that the students and staff at Mawbey Street School are all one big family."

Bost added that there would also be a caring tree where students and staff can nominate each other for doing something for others.

Rinaldo and Bost said they liked the community of caring program because it gives them a lot of room for creativity.

"We can address the core values in our own way," said Bost.

Rinaldo said she has seen differences in the students.

"Kids will be kids, but I see them stop and think," she said. "The core values begin to become part of their conversations and has become a common language in the school. They have become more responsible and respectful."

Rinaldo added that the fourth- and fifthgraders have become role models for the younger grades.

Every month the school holds pep rallies to boost the morale in the students.

"By seeing how receptive the kids are, it is well worth it to spend a class period once a month to hold the pep rallies," said Rinaldo.

The students receive various awards including student recognition and the Golden Sneaker awards at the pep rallies.

"We do a lot of community service events, including Relay for Life, collecting food for the hungry, writing to soldiers in Iraq, Jump Rope for the American Heart Association, making holiday baskets and bags, the St. Jude Marathon, and our Harvest Moon Dance," said Bost.

Rinaldo and Bost said they are always looking for new ideas and have surveyed the kids on what they like and don't like about the program.

The school holds a clap-in for the students entering the school (kindergartners) and a clap-out for the students leaving (fifthgraders).

"It's amazing," said Bost. "The staff and students and sometimes families come and clap and cheer for the students. It's a morale booster."

Bost said one of her students in second grade said it best when asked why the core values are important.

"He said, 'Well, because they make me feel good inside my heart and because if I do [the core values], I get to dance and sing with [Bost] at the pep rallies,' " she said.