Onondaga Central
Everyday as you walk down the halls, you may notice colorful words scattered around the school. Do you ever wonder what these words mean, why they’re there, or who put them there? These words are the source of a new movement in our school district known as The Positivity Project. The Positivity Project is a movement that teaches students and staff about building positive relationships with others through focusing on twenty-four individual character strengths. The Positivity Project was introduced to our school through our Vice Principal, Mr. Stanton. Through his passion and the immense support from the rest of the school district, The Positivity Project was successfully launched here at Onondaga on Friday, September 20th.
During the summer of 2018, Mr. Stanton and a select group of staff members across the school district began their initial training for The Positivity Project. The training consisted of introducing these staff members to the twenty-four character traits, teaching them to utilize the traits and to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, they were taught how to use these traits to make positive connections with other people. After training, staff implemented a “pilot year” in select classrooms over at Rockwell and Wheeler Elementary. Then, last June, all of the staff members were asked to take the Positivity Project survey to discover their own character strengths and weaknesses. On top of that, Mrs. Pristash and Mrs. Passetti enhanced our hallways with the aforementioned character strengths, which Mrs. Pristash created using her Cricut machine, during testing week last year. During the first week of school this year, each student was asked to take this same survey. Finally at the end of September, Mr. Stanton and the staff members launched a community-wide kick-off. At the foundation of The Positivity Project are twenty-four character strengths. These character traits were researched and formulated by Dr. Chris Peterson and Dr. Martin Seligman. Through their research, they have concluded that these strengths are evident throughout time and all cultures of the world. They have also added that every single one of these strengths exist in every individual. By making students aware of these twenty-four strengths, The Positivity Project aims to provide a foundation for self-confidence and self-awareness. Additionally, these character strengths help students to understand the differences in other people and further value them. If you have not already taken the Positivity Project survey, you can find it here: https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register. Mr. Stanton’s hope for the Positivity Project here at Onondaga is for it to lend itself to the elementary schools much more. Mr. Stanton explains, “When the kids are in Kindergarten, and they’re getting on the bus, they could be working on bravery. Or if they’re struggling with a relationship with their peers, they could be working on open-mindedness. We’re hoping that these kids can make the connections to the character strengths, and over time, they’ll be able to identify them in themselves and in others.” When asked about his own number one character strength, he responded that it’s humor. Mr. Stanton the went on to explain how he uses humor in his everyday life by saying, “I try to utilize it with kids, especially when we’re having difficult conversations. Or if they’ve made a mistake, I try to lighten the mood with humor, sometimes to a fault.” Mr. Stanton’s passion and belief in the Positivity Project has been the driving force for its implementation here at Onondaga, and he hopes to see it spread across the entire district and continue on in the years to come. Mrs. Pristash adds, “We’re all really supportive of Mr. Stanton and his ideas, and we fully believe that we’re all made up of these twenty-four different strengths. And once you realize and see these traits within yourself, you can learn to appreciate them in other people, too.”
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