The Discovery Program at Halifax Elementary School is designed to give students a strong foundation for the secondary character education program. The Discovery Program at the Elementary School focuses on combining character building lessons with a school-wide positive behavior support program throughout the school.
Each month at the elementary school, students are introduced to a new character theme for the month. These monthly character themes include:
Be Responsible, Show Respect, Be Kind, Show Concern, Be a Leader, Be a Friend, Be a Brother’s Keeper, Tell the Truth, and Have Courage.
Students meet with their Discovery teacher on a monthly basis where character words are taught through a lesson, presentation, game, story, or creative activity. Students in the elementary school are assigned into mixed aged groups for their Discovery. These groups give students a chance to form bonds and friendships with teachers and students outside of their regular classrooms. Another community building practice of the Discovery program revolves around these mixed Discovery groups. When students are assigned a Discovery group and teacher, they will meet with that same group and teacher for as long as they stay in the elementary school. This allows students to form close relationships with different students throughout the school, including students who may be older than them and can act as role models for younger students within the group.
The school-wide positive behavior support system provides expectations for students’ behavior both in the classroom and school wide. Depending on their behaviors, students can earn "Cat Stars". The system supports and encourages positive behavior choices.