During the 2024-25 school year, students at GFW Middle School have been participating in a variety of activities and lessons centered around behavior, relationships, and being a good citizen. The district continues to use Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) to set buildingwide expectations around behavior and finding ways to celebrate and encourage students for meeting and exceeding those expectations.
A team of teachers and staff members have been working together all year to set the expectations, teach the expectations, and also look for additional ways to create a sense of community for all students throughout the school.
“Since the launch of PBIS I have noticed a general rise or increase in student positivity and good behaviors,” said Reading Interventionist Lane Tande. “I think that everyone appreciates being in an environment that reinforces positive interactions. To relate it to sports, the coach always wants their players to show good sportsmanship and be a team player because it builds a sense of camaraderie and leads to hopefully better teamwork and results for the team.”
Teachers are continuing to teach the values of SOARS which stands for Spirit, Optimistic, Accountable, Respectful, and Safe and try to acknowledge when they see students being outstanding citizens in the school. This is seen through simple but impactful things like kindness to others, helping out, and valuing collaboration and cooperation.
“This year I have witnessed many acts of kindness like students returning dropped money, students inviting other students to sit with them when they really aren't that well acquainted with one another but understand that they might feel left out, as well as students reading with each other to help them understand class material,” said Tande. “The PBIS program really isn't about huge things. Instead, it is about small acts of kindness and community that combine to create a sum that is greater than any of its parts.”
Another great way to build that sense of community with peers is to simply have fun together. That is the driving force behind reward days and mini course days, where students get to select from a variety of different activities led by staff members. At the March Mini Course Day, students had fun options including on-campus activities like playing basketball with Mr. Rogotzke and Ms. Collins, baking with Mrs. Weir, or painting dragonflies with Mrs. Busse and Mrs. Niebhur.
Other students opted for off-campus activities including outdoor survival training with Mr. Busse, tubing at Mount Kato with help from some high school students, or heading to Ginny’s Cafe with Ms. Wood and Mrs. Mages for treats and playing games together. These activities are a great way for students to spend time with each other beyond the classroom setting while also trying something new.
“For reward days I have had a board game day, gone bowling, play kickball, and I have supervised students at the pool at Vogel in New Ulm,” said Mr. Tande. “The activities are pretty varied and it really is about exposing students to some new things that they haven't ever experienced or just enjoying something that they love. All of this builds community and positivity!”
Looking ahead to next year, there is a lot of excitement about continuing this approach as well as expanding it into the high school now that a few classes of middle school students have experienced it. By building a sense of community early on, GFW Public Schools is supporting students to be prepared to be involved citizens later in life.
Mr. Tande summed it up nicely, “We want to encourage our GFW community members to develop their sense of pride, integrity, and honor early in life because these traits will help them through the rest of their lives regardless of what they choose to do after their school-age years.”