Our female Lunch Bunch students and many friends decided to join in and make their own music video to show others that they don't have to "Try" so hard to fit in to have others like them. All we should have to do in life is to just be ourselves. Each girl picked a word that she thought described her, decorated it, and is now sharing it with you. I am proud of the strong individuals they are and how they wish to be identified. As you will see, it is not about fitting in, it is about being yourself.

So, why fit in when you were born to stand out!

April tends to be the least favorite school month. It's cold, it's rainy, there's too much testing. To add a little inspiration and cheer, we headed to the bathrooms to leave a little unexpected pick me up.

The eighth graders helped with this project by writing on hundreds of post it notes, little messages of inspiration on each one. The notes were left on bathroom mirrors with a sign that reads, "Take What You Need." They were an instant hit. While the project began in the girls' bathrooms, it wasn't long before the boys were asking us to do theirs as well.

Now, a pen and pack of post it notes are left in the bathrooms, and all students are free to take and leave messages of inspiration for one another. If you have a favorite saying or quote, please be sure to share it with me. I know the 8th graders would also appreciate adding them to their collection of "bathroom quotes."

Seventh grade classes spent two days talking about bullying. As part of the lesson, we defined what is Mean, Rude, and Bullying. There is a difference, and sometimes the word, "Bullying" is used incorrectly. To define each, Mean is defined as saying something that can hurt someone's feelings on purpose. It is different from bullying in that it is not an ongoing situation. Rude is defined as saying something because one does not stop to think before speaking, and bullying is ongoing hurtful behavior that can be broken down into four categories: physical, social, cyber, and verbal.

In addition, students were given a challenge: to pass a handful of glitter from one person to the next. I promised each class pizza if they could successful pass all the glitter with out leaving any on their hands or without getting any on the floor. Since pizza was involved, they were very careful in their passing of the glitter. What they found, was that the glitter, no matter how hard they tried or how careful they were, could all be passed. Some was left behind. What the 7th graders quickly learned was that our words are like glitter. Once they are out there we can't get every piece back.