如果你问一个孩子在学校最重要的事情是什么，他们的答案很可能与玩耍、归属感和安全感有关。那么，我们如何帮助所有学生建立友谊、适应环境、包容差异，并让他们觉得学校是一个安全、关爱的地方呢？在科文特里希尔斯学校，我们通过每天让我们的美德工作成为一部分来实现！

在像科文特里希尔斯这样的K-3学校，孩子在其他600名学生中可能会感觉自己像沙滩上的一粒沙子。这就是为什么我们的学生和学校社区重视学习如何遵循一些非常重要的美德。为了创建对我们将要强调的九种美德的视觉提醒，所有班级的所有学生共同合作，制作了美德横幅。然后，这27个横幅的三套被悬挂在学生可以在整个学年中看到的最显眼的地方。

这对学生有影响吗？当然！一个学生说：“当我们一起制作横幅时，就像我们都是一个大拼图的一部分，相互融合在一起，形成了一幅伟大的画面。”另一个学生说：“看到其他班级用相同的美德词进行调查后制作的横幅真的很酷。每个横幅都非常不同！这就像我们一样，对吧？”

这对我们的家长有影响吗？毫无疑问！一位家长报告说，她的儿子在帮忙洗碗时说：“看妈妈，我正在展现耐心，因为这需要很长时间。”另一个家长告诉一位员工说：“很有趣……他拼不出单词‘said’，但他却能拼出‘thoughtfulness’并解释它的一切。”一个父亲分享说，当他与他的十几岁儿子争吵时，他的一年级孩子插嘴并坚持说：“爸爸，你需要展现宽容。每个人都会犯错误。”

这对我们的学校和我们生活的世界有影响吗？毫无疑问！我们注意到学生的品格发生了变化，他们明白遵循美德可以帮助他们成为更好的公民。一些学生加入了我们的“科文特里关爱俱乐部”，共同寻找帮助他人的方式；我们的班级正在保存旧记号笔以便回收燃料；我们的家庭为Jacket Racket募集了260多件夹克；几位学生在生日时要求捐赠资金而不是收到礼物，捐给像艾伯塔动物救援组织、卡尔加里人道协会和心脏和中风基金会等组织；一些一年级学生要求老师帮助他们组织收集学用品，捐给其他无法负担得起这些用品的CBE学生。

我们的学生可能年纪小，但他们确实知道，如果他们把美德放在第一位，努力成为最好的自己，他们可以创造巨大的改变！他们知道他们的行动可以产生连锁反应，使我们的世界变得更美好。

If you ask a child what the most important thing they do at school is, their answer will likely have to do with playing, belonging, and feeling safe. So, how do we help all students build friendships, fit in, be tolerant of differences and feel that school is a safe and caring place to be? At Coventry Hills School, we do it by making our virtue work part of each and every day! 

In a K-3 school like Coventry Hills, one student amongst 600 other students can feel like a grain of sand on a beach. That is why our students and our school community value learning how to live by some very important virtues. This year, to create visual reminders of the nine virtues we will highlight, all students in all classes worked together as a team to create virtue banners. Three sets of 27 banners were then hung in the most visual spaces for students to view throughout the year. 

Has it made a difference to students? Absolutely! One student stated, “When we worked on the banner together, it was like we were all pieces of one big puzzle that fit together to make a great picture”. Another student remarked, “It was cool to see what other classes made after investigating the same virtue word as our class. Every banner is super different! That’s like us, right?” 

Has it made a difference to our parents? Without a doubt! One parent reported that her son was helping wash the dishes and said, “Look mom, I’m showing patience because this is taking a LONG time.” Another parent told a staff member, “It’s funny…he can’t spell the word ‘said’ but he can spell ‘thoughtfulness’ and explain everything about it.” One dad shared that he had been arguing with his teenage son when his grade one child interrupted and insisted, “Dad, you need to show forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Has it made a difference in our school and the world we live in? Unquestionably! We have noticed a shift in our students’ character and their understanding that living the virtues can help them become better citizens. Some students have joined our “Coventry Cares Club” to work together to find ways to help others; our classes are saving old markers to be recycled into fuel; our families collected over 260 jackets for Jacket Racket; several students have asked for money instead of presents on their birthdays to donate to organizations such as the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society, the Calgary Humane Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation; and some grade one students have asked teachers to help them organize a collection of school supplies to donate to other CBE students that cannot afford to have them at home.

Our students might be young but they certainly know that if they put the virtues first and strive to be the best they can be, they can create great change!  They know that their actions can create a ripple effect to make our world a better place.