During the first weeks of school we spend an incredible amount of time on rules and expectations. By establishing these policies early in the year, the children know what is expected of them in all different kinds of situations. I also believe in consistency and follow-through of rewards and consequences. Our rules are simple: Be kind and considerate to one another, treat others as you want to be treated, respect other people's space and property, and keep your hands and feet to yourself.

    Farwell has "Bobcat Awards", which are given to students who are caught "being good"! These awards are carbonized and the white copy goes home and the yellow one is put onto the huge hundreds board near the office. At the end of each week, ten numbers are chosen, and those ten students receive a special prize from the office. The children love these, and it's a nice way to spread the news about a child's good behavior.

    In the classroom, every child has a pocket with 5 colored cards in it. The first one is blue, which is great! When a child does not follow the rules, a verbal warning is given. If the child continues to misbehave, he/she will flip their card to reveal the yellow card, which means "warning". If the child has more inappropriate behavior, he/she will flip their card again. This time it will be green, which means that the child will go to Noon Detention for ten minutes during lunch recess. If more inappropriate behavior continues during the day, the card will be flipped again. This time it will be orange and the child will go to Noon Detention for the whole lunch recess. A note will go home whenever a child has a Noon Detention and will need to be signed and returned. If a child continues to misbehave, their card will be flipped to red. The child will go to the office and have to speak with the principal.

    If everyone in the class has a blue card at the end of the day, the class will earn a marble! When the class earns ten marbles, they will get to vote on a surprise such as a movie or extra recess or something special that they choose. (If a child has flipped their card only once, I will ask him/her if they honestly feel that their behavior improved during the day. If they feel that it has, and I agree, I'll flip their card back to blue. This eliminates  "I've already got my card flipped so I might as well forget trying to be good today.")

    Sometimes a child will be given a "Work Pass". This means that the child will need to spend part of their lunch recess finishing up work that was not done during class time. This is not a punishment, but merely a chance for a child to catch up on things. I always give the children ample time to get things done in the classroom, and rarely give them a work pass. There are times, however, when some children don't get their class work done because they have been talking or not working like they should. If this becomes a habit, I will alert parents to that fact.