We have a nice thing at our school throughout the year. Anytime a
teacher notices a child going the extra mile to be kind, helpful, etc.,
we can honor them with a surprise letter from our headmaster that thanks
them for the event that led to the letter. I was AMAZED to see how nice
these letters are! Sometimes he has taken a box of donuts to a class to
help celebrate the good deed, but that led to "Eddie Haskells" trying to
get me to write a letter for them....like, "Look, Mrs. W. I cleaned out
ALL THESE PENCIL BOXES" hint, hint. I don't write them for Eddie
Haskell types. You can sure see the difference between genuine care,
help, etc., and helpfulness that is motivated by the idea of getting
donuts! I want the internal values to grow, not their waistlines, lol.
I give them out liberally to kids who do not ask or tell me about their
actions...I have to notice it or hear about it from a classmate, but I
have given out at least 30 of these this year. THe letter is mailed
home to the family.
