“Character Squad!”
Each year, the Hillside student body participates in “Character Color Wars,” an idea originally developed by a former student council president. “Character Color Wars” involves three main whole-school activities: hallway decorating, Field Day, and a culminating assembly. Students are split into six teams, each corresponding to a pillar of character (respect, responsibility, citizenship, caring, trustworthiness, and fairness). Each pillar-team is composed of students/staff from all grade levels (K-5). Rather than participating on a team, our student council representatives serve on our “Character Squad.” The “Character Squad” is trained to facilitate Field-Day games and keep score of displays of character (e.g. teamwork, cheering on, good sportsmanship, etc.) During hallway
decorating and assemblies, the “Character Squad” monitors each group to record and highlight moments of good character. In order to keep track of displays of character, representatives complete a daily score sheet and return it to student council advisors. In addition to our Student Council meetings, representatives meet with the P.E. teachers to learn the different rules of Field Day games, so that they can effectively model the stations for their peers. They also record a video of each activity to share with the student body.
