What Mrs. McEvoy and Mrs. Slater believe:

1. There is always room for everyone - at meeting, in a work group, at lunch, even if you have to move to let someone in or tell someone else to let someone in. Always include everyone.

2. We are a caring community. We come in an assortment of shapes, sizes and colors. We all have special gifts and we all have things we need to work on together.

3. Life is not fair. That’s just the way it is - sometimes it is in your favor, sometimes not!

4. The same is boring—and so it might be reasonable to assume that everyone in the world could and should (and in our classroom WILL) be accepted for who they are.

5. There are people who talk with their mouths and people who talk with their hands and people who talk by pointing and people who tell us all we need to know with their bodies if we only listen well—We will talk to and listen to each other.

6. We all need to help one another and support one another. We all have things we are good at and things we need help with and we are here to help each other. None of us is alone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

7. Our words have power. It is important to STOP and THINK about what words you say before you say them. Use words to help people, not hurt them.

8. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Be gentle with others when they make mistakes and be gentle with yourself when you make a mistake. Remember the Golden Rule, Treat others as you want to be treated.

9. Honesty (even when it hurts) is always the best policy. If you are trying to be honest with someone about a difficult topic, be kind, but be honest.

10. Be respectful, be kind and be polite...all three will take you wherever you want to go, even if you are not treated that way.

Be positive. Smile, say hello, make eye contact! You will always feel better making someone smile than making someone hurt.

We are here to help you.