Friday, October 20, 2017
The Super Strength of Gratitude… and the 24 Character Strengths
Happy Sunday! BCMS Students and Parents,
If you’ve paid attention to the banners that hang from the ceiling of our main hallway in BCMS you’ve noticed that there are 24 of them. You might wonder, ‘why 24?’
The research behind the 24 Character Strengths was led by a group of former presidents of the American Psychological Association. Martin Seligman, while meeting with a few of these former presidents, suggested that the field of psychology had been focused for too long (ie: the previous 200 years) on only ½ of the field. He stated that psychology had always tried to take people from a negative number back to zero (ie: fixing broken people and getting back to baseline). He then asked what if psychology could be more about taking people from 0 to some more positive number, or better sense of well-being!
This group then tried to define what was meant by the term “character.” When they all arrived at different definitions, they realized that this was their first work. And so, they set out to scour all the cultures of the world with one question; “what are the values that are consistent between all cultures?”
When I ask folks how many aspects of character they discovered I often hear numbers in the hundreds and even thousands. The answer, 24!
That’s where our 24 strengths come from and to read more about the scientific studies that this group propagated in the span of time between 1999 and 2004 read Character Strengths and Virtues, by Seligman and his co-author Chris Peterson. It’s a dense, thick read that’s definitely at an adult level but it’s full of really interesting research about the banners you’ll see in our halls.
All of these 24 strengths have now been researched extensively. What the research continues to demonstrate is that some strengths, like GRATITUDE, are “super strengths,” in that, when we intentionally practice them, it makes us healthier and happier.
Read more here:
More about the strengths in upcoming weeks, but Gratitude is one of my favorites!
Mr. Klugman
End of Week Notes
Parent Coffee with Counselors - This Thursday, 9:30 AM, Library Media Center
- Each year our counselors host this event to talk with parents about the scope and sequence of our counseling program through 6th, 7th and 8th grades including the transitions into the building and to the High School. We hope you can join us (no RSVP required)
Thank you’s
- To our PTO and all of the students and parents who participated in our PTO meeting Monday night
- For more information about our clubs check out this link
- Here is a list of our clubs that we will try to keep up to date as new clubs form (for example, Mr. Klamka just started our Songwriting Club a few weeks ago)
- To join a club or find out more about visit the classroom and / or teacher listed
- Thanks to Mr. Warford and our Garden Club for another great Scarecrow Day!
It’s Costume Ball Week!
- We still need lots of parent volunteers and yes, you come in costume!
- To sign up please use this link
- Please also note that the only parents allowed into the event are those who are volunteering
BOU’s Talking with your Tween and Teen
- The BOU’s Talking with your Teen is appropriate for MS students and their Parents!
PTO News & Notes
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We are still desperately in need of volunteers for the Costume Ball next week! If you can, please sign up to help. Thank you so much! Use the link above
Costume Ball
*Ticket Sales for students (during lunches): 10/25, 10/26 & 10/27 11am-12n & 12n-1:15pm
*Chaperones: 10/27 6:15-8:30 or 9:30 pm
*Bakers: 10/27 (Drop off) 8am-3pm or 4-6pm
*Decorators (for the Haunted House): 10/26 starting at 3:00pm
Please email: pmcgaughan@bcsd.neric.org
Parent Coffee & Counselor Presentation
*Bakers: 10/26 by 8:30am
REMINDER: PTO membership dues and assignment notebook payments are due! You can make payment via our website at https://www.bcmspto.org/ or include your student's name and info on an envelope labeled “PTO” and turn it in at the main office.
Please note: Box tops for Education are due Nov 1st; please send yours in by Friday, October 27th
