PY Star of the Week

For many years, TISB Primary (PY) has had a rewarding system in place for students who have achieved something or show good qualities of a learner, called ‘Praise Certificates’. This academic year, PY has extended this to students in Pre-KG to KG. The new system is called ‘Star of the Week’. We were recently contacted by Ms Bridget, an English teacher at TISB, who’s daughter is a student in PY. She told us about her daughter being awarded the Praise Certificate, and how great it made her daughter feel. But what are these certificates? How does it work and why is it there? We got in touch with Ms Emily, Deputy Principal at TISB PY, to learn more.

It is not a system to bring someone higher or lower than someone else. It is an award to celebrate students achievements and efforts, and encourage them further – Ms Emily, Deputy Principal PY

But let us start from the beginning. Ms Bridget’s daughter, Pippa, who is a student in Grade 4, was recently awarded a Praise Certificate during one of the virtual assemblies that happen on Fridays. The Praise Certificates have been rewarded to children for years at TISB, and they highlight good achievements or efforts of students. Pippa has previously won medals for sporting events, as well as a few commendations for other activities. “The common denominator for all of them was that she had to prove herself better than someone else in order to be considered worthy of recognition”, says Ms Bridget and explains that her daughter took 17 screenshots of the Praise Certificate and that it was her most favourite certificate ever. 

The Praise Certificates and Star of the Week are presented to students at the weekly assemblies. Who is awarded is decided by the teacher, who also is the one giving out the certificates to the student. What students are praised for, is based on their recent behaviours and endeavours, achievements or attitudes. Pippa was awarded her Praise for “not giving up on challenges and showcasing a growth mindset” – something that resonates well with the values of PY.  As such, the certificates does not celebrate achievements in a hierarchical manner, where students are ordered and ranked in comparison to each other. Rather it is to encourage certain behaviour amongst everyone. “In fact, all students in Pre-KG and KG will be Star of the Week at least once per term”, says Ms Emily who introduced Star of the Week this academic year. “It is a chance for the teacher and the school to celebrate and promote good behaviour in all students – helping them to build positive attitudes and their learning-to-learn skills”, explains Ms Emily, who herself hands out the weekly Star of the Week certificates in Pre-KG and KG. 

Ms Bridget agrees and believes these attitudes are important among all students, as they build a sense of self-efficacy and improve her ability to learn and grow. Bridget concludes by saying: “My daughter told me that she felt a bit foolish while the teacher spent a lot of time clearing her doubts in math as the other students patiently waited, but she remembered she was in school to learn and that it was ok to say “I don’t know.” I hope she will always feel safe enough to say that”.