Dear Students and Parents of students:
Martial Arts & More has introduced one of the most exciting and innovative programs you and your child will ever experience in the area of Personal Responsibility Education. The program is S.T.A.R. (Success Through Accepting Responsibility or Stop, Think, Act and Review). S.T.A.R. was developed by the Jefferson Center for Education, located in Pasadena, California. Over 5,000 schools and 50,000 classrooms currently use the S.T.A.R. curriculum across the country. This curriculum has reached nearly 2 million students. The Jefferson Center for Character Education is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization founded in 1963, which addresses the need to teach character education in both public and private schools. The Jefferson Center focuses on the systematic teaching of common values that cut across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines. These values include: honesty, respect, responsibility, integrity, courage, tolerance, justice, self-confidence, and politeness.
Our mission is to instill these very values in students using the martial arts. This is an ongoing process. It’s not something achieved in a month, or year, but rather over a lifetime of education and effort. We have chosen the S.T.A.R. program because it is the perfect complement to our philosophy. S.T.A.R. will provide an ongoing, systematic method of teaching the core values on which our program is based.
S.T.A.R. is designed to teach students to:
• Accept the consequences of their actions.
• Use the S.T.A.R. Stop Think Act Review decision-making model to solve problems and resolve conflicts.
• Develop and improve self-confidence, self-esteem, and positive attitudes.
• Set and achieve realistic goals.
• Accept that attendance in class, punctuality, and reliability, are part of being personally responsible.
Results of Independent Studies:
Studies done by two Pittsburgh, PA foundations, the Scafe Family foundation and the Vera I. Heinz foundation, showed dramatic decreases in disciplinary problems during an average month after the introduction of S.T.A.R. in an academic setting. For example, fighting decreased 25%, tardiness 40%. Theme of the Month: All monthly themes will emphasize responsibility and values. For example, “How Can I
Make Good Choices?” could be a theme of the month. Monthly Activity: Each Theme of the Month will have an activity, which the student is encouraged to do. The activity will reinforce the value expressed by the monthly theme. For example, the theme above would require
students to keep a logbook of kind and courteous acts done during the month.
S.T.A.R. Award: Our school is ads S.T.A.R. patch of achievement, which will go to every student who does the following:
1) Completes the monthly activity.
2) Works up to his or her ability in school and behaves there.
3) Behaves at home.
4) Displays leadership qualities and a sincere effort to improve while attending classes in the dojo.
5) Returns the S.T.A.R. Home/School Approval Form no later than the third week of the month. No late forms will be accepted or lost ones replaced. Remember, we are teaching the child responsibility.
Other Reward Systems: The patches currently earned, Student of the Month award, SWAT, STORM, and other awards will be incorporated into the S.T.A.R system.
As S.T.A.R. grows here at the school, there will be other enhancements to our curriculum. As always, your input is essential to our success. After all, the most important people in the character education of a child are mom and dad.
Once again, thank you for your support in helping make our school the best Martial Arts Center in the county.