Dear Parents,

Once again, The Garden City Primary and Elementary Schools are continuing the Have You Filled a Bucket Today Character Education Program this year.  The pictures above are from my visits to each kindergarten and first-grade class early in the school year, during which I read the book Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin.  After the read aloud, we discussed what bucket filling means, and each child was given a page on which to write or draw what a being a bucket filler is.  The first-grade pages were bound into class books, and each day on the morning announcements, I read a few pages from these books as a reminder to the children to be a bucket filler everyday!  You will have the chance to read your class book after it is announced and when it is your child’s turn to take the class book home. 

In January, I will ask the first-grade classes to assist me in working with the kindergarten classes to create their own class books on what being a bucket filler is.  We will then read  a few pages from the kindergarten books on the announcements each day, and when we finish, each kindergartener will have a turn to bring his or her class book home to share.  We will continue to incorporate the language of being a bucket filler throughout the school, in physical education, in the lunchroom, at recess, on the bus, and appreciate any efforts by you and other siblings to support and reinforce this concept throughout the year. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Suzanne Viscovich