Why not ask the kids to keep their eyes open for other kids who are doing random acts of kindness and honor them.
Whenever I present at a school or conference, I always watch for that one kid who just stands out from the crowd and does something unexpected.
Here are just two small examples...
1) I was running late for a conference and I was the opening keynote speaker! While I was driving into the parking lot, there was a busload of kids in front of me already on their way to the auditorium. One kid in the back row of the bus, gave me the peace sign and it was like a gift from heaven above and I took a couple of deep breaths and was reminded to calm down and be filled with peace. A frantic speaker cannot convey a positive message. During my talk, I asked the audience who the boy was and this kid raised his hand and I brought him up on stage and thanked him and gave him a pair of sunglasses and said "Kid, your future's so bright... you're gonna need shades!"
2) I recently spoke at a Young Women's Leadership Conference. I was the opening and closing keynote speaker and in between my sessions I sat in on another presenter's program. The other presenter asked the girls to write a list of things about themselves that make them special or bring them joy. Around a whole table of girls, one girl said "What brings me the most joy is my relationship with God."
When I was giving the closing keynote, I called that girl up on stage and thanked her for her courage to stand strong in her faith and proclaim it to others. I gave her a diamond paperweight and told her that her light was shining so bright and her faith will make her as strong as a diamond.
It's so much fun to get the kids to train their minds to look for something positive and it will mean more to them to be a part of the program and deciding who should get an award, and the positive energy felt in the school will ripple out to everyone in the building and to the parents and teachers.
I hope this helps... these awards will mean so much more than your average attendance awards. Feel free to contact me if you need any more ideas: at my website at KathleenHassan dot com
This year our PTA meeting schedule had to be changed, so our last general meeting will not be attached to a school function (like the school play). We need to have a good turnout because at the end of the year we vote in new officers, acknowledge the outgoing officers, etc. I thought that it would be nice to have an award's night. We could acknowledge the students, teachers and parent volunteers. We have never done this before, so I wanted some ideas on the different awards we could offer. So far I have come up with attendance awards for the students and teachers, Citizenship awards for students that have received citizenship (good grades) all year and GEM (go the extra mile) awards for parents, students and teachers. Since this is something that I am just starting and my principal is new, I wanted to see if anyone had some additional ideas. Thanks in advance.
