"Project
Wisdom starts day right at Remington School"
Students of Remington Elementary School in Ilion are building character
and learning valuable lessons by beginning each day with a message
and quote on the morning announcements.
The program is called Project Wisdom and was instituted at the start
of the school year by Remington's principal, Jeremy Rich. The point
of the project is to instill values and respect in students through
a short message every day.
"Last year when I got here I wanted to do something meaningful
on the morning announcements to set the tone for the day,"
Rick said. "I knew there were programs out there like this,
it was just a matter of finding it."
With the help of his staff, Rich found what he was looking for in
Project Wisdom.
Project Wisdom was begun by a Houston, Texas, parent in 1992 as
an effort to bring character education to the local middle school.
The pilot program gained the attention of neighboring schools and
within a few months a small business had formed to disseminate the
character building messages. Today the program reaches more than
four million students in all 50 states.
With Rich's purchase of the program, Remington Elementary is now
one of the 11,000 schools nationwide to be implementing Project
Wisdom.
The messages delivered each day are aimed not only at educating
children, but at helping them develop as responsible and caring
individuals. Each morning during the daily announcements, Rich reads
the day's message, including a quote from someone well-known to
students.
The messages touch topics such as the gift of friendship, keeping
a positive attitude, making a difference, celebrating America's
diversity, and building courage. The messages follow monthly themes,
which all relate to the project's central theme of respecting oneself
and others.
Each message also includes a quote from celebrities, historic figures
and modern heroes.
To begin the school year, the messages dealt with the significance
of getting a good education, the importance of obeying the dress
code, and the importance of respecting adults in school.
Today's quote was from Oprah Winfrey, who said, "I think education
is power. I think being able to communicate with people is power."
Rich then asked the students what makes people powerful; strength,
education or something else. The message also talked about dealing
with anger.
The addition of a message and quote to the morning announcements
takes about 45 seconds to one minute, Rich said.
"They're quick, efficient and deliver a point," Rich said.
After the announcements teachers take a few minutes to discuss the
message of the day with their students and have the option of allowing
students to keep a journal about the messages.
"There's a lot you can do with it, but you don't have to use
every aspect either," said Rich. "Parents have been telling
me their kids come home with the quotes to share with the family.
It's a great program that builds supplemental character."
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