Authored by Adrienne Gallant
Camden Rockport Middle School has been a Let’s Go! school for a few years now. They have been working diligently on increasing the awareness of the entire student body, as well as staff, on the importance of finding new and innovative ways to celebrate successes and just have fun without food! They hold a weekly contest where the winning homeroom teacher is presented with a creative homemade award (created by their clever art teacher, Kristen Andersen). The winner of the Wednesday Word Contest receives the “Golden Book” award, the Thursday Trivia winner receives the “Trivia Crown” and the Friday Film contest results in the “Friday Film Scepter” being awarded to the winner. Each winning homeroom teacher takes the prize back to their room for display until the next assembly where they need to turn it over to the next winner. The high point winners earn points toward Spirit Week, their annual week of crazy competition and fun!
Camden Rockport Middle School has made some great changes in some of the prizes and activities they promote. For example, during the 5th and 6th grade activity nights they used to have a “cake walk” where parents would donate cakes and cupcakes and the students would march around to the music. When the music stopped, if the student was standing on the number that was drawn they would take an entire cake home to their family. Now they’ve changed the name and the prizes! It’s now the “prize walk” and students are awarded random things like Nerf footballs and water bottles!
They’ve also instituted a new reward system at assemblies for students who are on the “Wall of Greatness”. In the past these kids would be put into a raffle drawing to win a coupon for an ice cream in the cafeteria… now they give out “Spirit Sleeves” – red and white striped sleeves that the kids wear on their arms or legs to show school spirit!
Change doesn’t have to be scary… As the folks at Camden Rockport Middle School have shown it can actually be a lot of fun!
Photos provided courtesy of Ellen Curtis