OPS HEROs: Helping Everyone Respect Others

​Every year, the first week in October is the Week of Respect and the third week is School Violence Prevention week.  In an elementary school, the messages for each week center around how we treat others. 

My program grew out of the Omega Man presentation in which Strong Man encouraged all students to be a HERO.  So, students were encouraged to choose and complete a HERO cut-out asking them to complete the sentence, "I show respect by: _______________________."  The HEROs were then displayed on the bulletin board outside my office, and the answers were highlighted in the morning announcements.

The bulletin board asked, "How can YOU be a HERO?" and displayed a variation on the familiar Batman theme song.  I'm sure you know it: "Da-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na-na na- I Respect You!" (That last part was made up by one of our 6th graders!)  The theme song was also used at the beginning of each morning announcement. Here's an example:

"<<Batman Theme Song>>
Today's super heroes can be found in Mrs. Kaminski's 3rd grade class!  It's FULL of caped crusaders respecting others!  Among them are:
 - Jianna Lee, who respects her friends when she shares her things with them;
 - Arnav Tambavekar, who respects other classes by walking quietly in the hallways; 
 - Lynn Kim, who respects our building and everyone in it by throwing out trash; and
 - Lexie Hart, who shows respect to the morning monitors when she says hello to them.
Thank you, OPS Super Heros!!  This community would not be the same without you!
Stay tuned to the morning announcements to learn the secret identities of more super heros tomorrow!  Are you ready to unmask yourself? If so, stop by Mrs. Mason’s office and tell us what you do to show respect!"

As you may have noticed while walking around OPS, there were too many HEROs to fit on the small space outside my office, so a group of students helped spread the message throughout the school.  Hopefully, these serve as reminders of how we want to treat others and what to expect in how we are treated by others.