There’s no news like good news, especially when it comes in the form of a compliment in the mail.
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.
“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.