Piled into the elementary gym, preschoolers through 6th-grade students prepare for the morning announcements to begin. Morning assemblies are new this year and consist of the Pledge of Allegiance, the day’s schedule, student and staff birthdays, national days, and any other special announcements about the day.
“The collective sound of everyone doing the pledge is cool,” said Principal Mathis.
The morning assembly started because it was a way to prepare the kids for the day without distractions. During this time the students can be recognized in special ways, such as earning tickets. These tickets are a way to motivate the students. They can obtain these with good behavior, being safe, or cleaning up after themselves. When students earn a ticket, they drop it in their homeroom bucket and at the end of the month, fifteen tickets per bucket get drawn during this time.
With so many kids in the gym at once, it can be overwhelming. To solve this problem, there is a countdown projected on the slides. As time ticks down, the kids can look up and know when to start settling down. Teachers have reported that the kids come back to class calmer than when they came inside from the playground. Although it can be the same routine, Mr. Mathis keeps the morning fun. On Wednesdays, they do a science experiment and on Thursdays, the kids hear a joke. Some younger students even tell Mr. Mathis that it’s their favorite time of the day.
The theme this year is The World Needs More Purple Schools.
Para Kathleen Hall said, “To me, it means more respect, safety, and focusing on school work. They absolutely love it. They’re paying attention, cheering, and laughing.”
With minds awake and ready, the elementary students are ready to tackle the day ahead of them.