HAPPY MONDAY MESSAGES:
Imagine working for two different companies. In one company, you have a boss who is continually telling you the areas in which you need to improve and another company where your boss praises you on a weekly basis for your accomplishments. Which boss would you want to work harder for? In my experience, students blossom as a result of positive reinforcement. For this reason, each week I post a Happy Monday Message on our classroom website to each child in my classroom. This messages focuses on a newly developed skill that the child has developed, or positive character traits they have exhibited in the classroom.  

The Story of Evan 
In my first year teaching I worked with a student named Evan (name changed for the purpose of anonymity). Evan was an adventurous spirit who loved to test the limits of how far he could push people of authority. One morning, Evan tried to sneak into class before the bell had rung. I told him that if he were to come into the class, he could help his fellow students by unstacking the chairs. He did so a tad reluctantly. The following Monday, when I read aloud each child's Happy Monday Message, I thanked Evan for coming in and unstacking each child's chair in the classroom. I thanked him for his kindness and for caring for the classroom community. That week, Evan took it upon himself to come and unstack the classroom chairs each day. He did so until the very last day of school, but this was not all. Each morning after he had unstacked our classroom chairs, Evan went to our neighbouring classrooms to see if he could unstack their chairs as well. By the end of the year Evan had taken the initiative to unstack the chairs of the 4 main classrooms on the first floor. That year, Evan proved him self as an inspirational, caring leader. He demonstrated how far a little positivity can go.
~Amy Craze-Teacher