Dear CCETA Families,
Last year we started a school wide initiative to focus on our core values more intentionally. Here at the elementary school we had 6 values our staff and faculty highlighted each month. The values were Self-Discipline, Compassion, Respect, Courage, Integrity, and Gratitude. You might have noticed on our social media outlets and at our awards assemblies we recognized students who were “caught” practicing these character traits. We have SO enjoyed watching their enthusiasm as they grow in their understanding of these values! We care deeply for our students and believe that while we are responsible for helping them achieve all their academic goals, we desire to help them become the best version of themselves they can possibly be. These core values are key to not only who we aspire to be at CCE, but also who we want to be moving forward. We want to be lifelong learners who are constantly growing and deepening our understanding of these character traits.
To help our students better understand these traits, we paired each value with an animal that is local to our region of the delta. As funny as this sounds, the kids and our staff had a blast last year learning about these animals! As we moved along in the school year, the animals and the value tied to them, correlated with the season these animals are typically associated with. Here is a list of how our schedule looked last year…
August/September: Self-Discipline and the Squirrel
October: Compassion and the Hog
November/December: Respect and the White-Tailed Deer
January: Courage and the Speckled Belly Goose
February/March: Integrity and the Turkey
April/May: Gratitude and the Largemouth Bass
Surveys were conducted at the beginning and end of the year, and truly the results were astonishing! It was incredibly encouraging to hear and witness how our students grew in these values. The hope is that we will all continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of these character traits. They are challenging in the best way, and we look forward to seeing our students shine all the more through them!
With that being said, by the end of the year, we saw the need to add one more value to really anchor the pack. We think it’s important to highlight our students' accomplishments, but we want our students to grow in these values for more than just acknowledgements sake. So for the new 2023-2024 school year, we will introduce one more core value we hope not only grounds us but challenges our motives as well. Our new core value will be Humility, and we’re going to use the Honeybee to help us navigate lessons as we learn and grow in this trait. Our motto for this value will be “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”. We want our students confident yet not boastful, and to be leaders who are not above serving others. Humility will be linked with every other value, because we see that is where each value will ultimately succeed.
We will be updating you throughout the year as we continue to walk down this road of character with your children. You are an important part of their success, and we want to be a school that takes steps together with all our people who are a part of our school family. Thank you for your time and we look forward to another year ahead!
Sincerely grateful and hopeful in humility,
Carly Owens
Elementary School Counselor