Habits of a Mindful Character

What is crew?

Crew is a school-wide structure that helps adults and students get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level. Crew helps to facilitate relational trust, which is critical for improving student achievement. Crew Meetings at Park Elementary provide the time and space for students to reflect in a safe community environment. It allows time to develop skills for learning and interacting with each other, assess academic and character development, and prepare for special school events like student-led conferences and community meetings.

At Park Elementary, we follow a carefully crafted set of character traits that represent both relational and performance skills. The Habits of Character are taught and discussed on a daily basis and are an integral part of the fabric of our school for students and staff alike.

 Park Elementary, Habits of a Mindful Scholar

Responsibility
Definition: Showing expected behaviors independently and with integrity.
Descriptors: Organized, on time, productive, following directions, being accountable, impulse control.
Habit Targets (K-5):
  • I can do the right thing even when no one is looking.
  • I can follow school-wide expectations.
  • I can take responsibility for and learn from my mistakes.
  • I can set goals for my own learning.

 

Teamwork
Definition: Working cooperatively (collaboratively) towards a common goal.
Descriptors:  Guiding students to create a trusting environment in which they achieve meaningful collaboration while supporting one another in utilizing individual strengths.
Habit Target (K-5):  
  • I can work respectfully and include all members of my team to achieve a common goal.
  • I share ideas and actively listen.
  • I share leadership and a variety of roles and group responsibilities.
  • I am willing to take risks.

 

Empathy
Definition:  Empathy is the ability to understand that people have complex feelings and different points of view regarding people, places and situations and uses this knowledge to do something for others.
Descriptors:  The skills to teach compassion and gratitude through identifying feelings in self and others, perspective taking, showing care and concern.
Habit Targets (K-5):
  • I can identify physical and situational clues in me and others to help identify my own feelings and other’s feeling.
  • I can recognize and acknowledge someone else’s feeling and perspective in different places and situations.
  • I can demonstrate caring and helping behaviors by responding with compassion in different settings.

 

Perseverance
Definition:  Patiently working through challenges (mind, body and emotions).  The ability to do your best and persist through challenges.
Descriptors: Growth mindset: take a risk to get started, using mistakes for growth,  try and try again,  high quality work.
Habit Targets (K-5): 
  • I can work through challenges.
  • I can learn through my mistakes.
  • I can set a goal and work towards the end result.
  • I can demonstrate patience.

 

Wonder
Definition:  The desire to be curious to know something.
Descriptors:  Pursue passions and shows love of learning, using my sense of curiosity to guide my learning, being open to new learning, experiences, and discoveries.
Habit Targets (K-5):
  • I  can ask questions and seek answers.
  • I can be open to and interested in new learning.
  • I can take risks to explore something I am interested in learning about.
  • I can be actively engaged in the learning activity.