A bucket full of Hippos!

Caryn Marnewick — Feb 22, 2022

This year we have adopted a PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) positive reinforcement system in Team Kea. In our class we are earning hippos for displaying the school values - KORU (Kindness, Ora, Resilience and Uniqueness) as well as perseverance or exceptional effort. We also receive hippos for filling someone's bucket.

At the start of the term, we read the story "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud. Each student has their own bucket in class to collect their hippos. When a student earns a hippo during the week, they place their hippo in their individual buckets.

During the week, the students can spend their hippos by buying items off the menu. The students take the corresponding number of hippos and buy their 'bucket filler reward' by placing their hippos into the class bucket.

PB4L recognises that when we work together for a common goal it can be very powerful (Me, We, Us). In our class we have a class Whakataukī (Māori proverb) that says Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini. My strength is not that of an individual but that of many. At the end of the week, each student will tip their individual bucket into the class bucket. This is where we can see how well we are working together towards our goal in order to earn our class acknowledgment.

Team Kea have set a goal and when we reach a certain number of hippos, the class will be acknowledged for their collaborative achievement. The class acknowledgment is selected through a suggestion, agree and vote process. This term our first acknowledgment was for hot chips.

This week we filled our class bucket and reached our first goal! During lunch on Monday we enjoyed our first class acknowledgment! The hot chips were delicious and well deserved. Well done Team Kea!