Sally Mauro Bulls work for exemplary behavior

By Submitted by
Carbon School District

Sally Mauro Elementary’s mascot is a Bull. But the Bull means more than a four legged, tough bovine. It is an acronym for something that is being done at the school
“It means Being respectful, United, Lifelong learner, Living responsibly and Safe,” said Principal Jarad Hardy. “Last year we started a program to encourage students to exhibit positive behavior.”
Hardy said that last year the program was a big hit. Each day staff members issue at least two Bull Horns to students. The Bull Horn is a ticket that the child receives when someone sees them exhibit positive behavior based on the Bull’s anthem of behavior.
High fives, prizes
“At the end of the school day we call for Bull Horns and they come to me and I give them a high five,” said Hardy. “Then we drop them in a box and they get a little prize, like a pencil or small ball.”
Then every Friday the school draws 15 cards out of the box and puts the names from the slips on a hundreds chart. The kids then draw for a number to go by their name.
“Once we get 10 in a row, either across or up and down we do an activity with those kids,” he said. “Last year the most popular activity was the Running with the Bulls. During that event those 10-15 kids run through the hall giving everyone a high five. Last year at one point it was like the perfect storm; we had four lines converge, so there were 40 students that were involved all at once. We did some popcorn and a movie. We have also done kickball, pizza with the principal and other things. The kids respond to that well.”
This year a twist was thrown in. Students can now give teachers and other staff members Bull Horns too.
“Kids are loving it and teachers see it very positively,” said Hardy. “It’s all about positive behavior. We call the ones that are given to staff by students staff shoutouts. We do a drawing quarterly for those. We keep track of what staff members get the most. Those that win get gift cards to a local restaurant or something like that. The intrinsic value of getting a Shoutout is also helpful particularly when we get to the middle of the year and things are kind of dragging along. A teacher getting one of these can be a positive.”
Of course where there is a carrot there is also a stick for students as well.
“We have a new tiered behavior system that also outlines negative behavior and what will happen if that is exhibited,” said the principal. “We use focus cards for kids with those kinds of problems. We have an aide who does skill lessons with the student depending on the behavior they exhibited. The parents get a copy of that focus card as well, so they know what is going on. We also use those cards to watch kids who have had problems with behavior to see if we can get them to be more positive as well. We want them to get Bull Horns for the good things they are doing too.” Multiple focus cards can result in a tougher consequence down the line, if the skills lessons don’t help to correct the behavior. “We want to try and help the students to build skills to improve their behavior” said Hardy.
Hardy says that with the behavior program and the dedicated staff he has at the school using the educational tools they have at hand, they expect this year will be a great one for the Bulls.