There’s no news like good news, especially when it comes in the form of a compliment in the mail.
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For students at Summit Academy Community School – Dayton, postcards deliver positive vibes during days spent learning at home. By way of the cards, students at the K-8 school receive regular kudos for being “sharp” – in other words – safe, honest, act responsibly, show respect and participate.
Designed by budding artist Gabe, a fifth-grader at the school, the postcards were introduced by Brianna Sexton, a Summit Academy Title 1 teacher, as a way for educators to recognize students for their positive behavior.
“When students meet a particular goal they’ve been trying to accomplish, do well on school work, or display random acts of kindness, their teacher will send a card to their homes,” Sexton explains. Sexton says she stocks teachers’ mailboxes with a steady supply of the cards to send as often as possible.
The cards have taken on a particularly meaningful role during the school shutdown, according Principal Catherine Rouhier. She says teachers usually send postcards to students weekly, sometimes as a way just to let their pupils know they are thinking of them.
Artist Gabe’s fanciful rendering of the word Samurai, the school mascot, in multi-green-hue bubble letters printed on the postcards, assure recipients that they are in for something special.
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“I love that my art is on the ‘sharp’ postcards,” Gabe says. “I have gotten two of them this year and they always make me smile.”
Gabe reports that whenever a postcard arrives home in the mail, his mom posts it on the refrigerator and tells him she is proud of him.
“It makes a kid feel good to get one and I’m happy everyone will see my drawing now,” Gabe says.