Class ends 3:03. Students leave backpacks neatly in classroom, tidy up and push in chairs. You can leave your rooms unlocked but make sure all students leave.

Information in classes from teachers prior to coming to the ceremony.

Our goal in the virtue ceremony is to get to celebrate good habits of thinking and learning together as a community. IVA Faculty and Staff want every part of what we do in school together to be meaningful and connected to our goals for students' education - that it wouldn't just be about the content you receive in middle school but also about the thinking practices and patterns of thinking that are set in place to benefit how you engage the world with curiosity and thoughtfulness, know yourself and live well.

In the past when we've held our ceremonies as a full school there are a few students who are not able to participate well by talking, laying down, not being able to quiet down. As a response, we decided to split up ceremonies into smaller groups but realized we don't get the same benefit in the small group as we do hearing from all of our teachers and being connected to the same updates and information. Here is our plan to protect the Virtue Ceremony and ensure we get to celebrate values as a school.

IVA now will consider disruptions at the Virtue Ceremony as an infraction that harms the community and we will track and follow up with each infraction. Our response to Virtue Ceremony disruptions will follow the steps we apply to cell phone use and dress code violations.

Here are the steps:

1. 1st time = Warning: an adult at the ceremony will say to the student that this is a warning, their behavior is a disruption to the ceremony. The student may be asked to move away from distractions.
2. 2nd time = Notice home to explain the disruption, importance of the ceremony, and notice that this is a second infraction: the student will be required to sit next to an adult and will not get to choose where they sit
3. 3rd time = Notice home that this is the third infraction, which may result in any of the following: loss of school activity, behavior contract, parent conference.

Classes please head to the plaza for a quick ceremony -

Grade 6 please sit in a long rectangle in front of Ms. Bryant

Grade 7 please sit in a long rectangle on the Linden street side

Grade 8 please sit in a long rectangle on the Office side of the plaza

Virtue Ceremony Announcements:

Our Athletics Director and amazing Physical Education teacher will share how our Cross Country team is doing

Upcoming Events:

• Next Friday is a Faculty Academy day - no students The following week has 4 days in a row with minimum days and 6th graders get Student-Parent-Teacher conferences on the Monday-Wednesday the 16th through 18th. Students attend our conferences and get to talk first about what virtues they are finding themselves practice. Sign ups for conferences are coming out early next week.
• Students are stepping into positions of leaders on campus. In the Spring we have Orientation leaders that apply and are trained but in the Fall students self-select to be leaders by starting clubs. In your email you have directions for how to start a club on campus. All club proposals are due on the google form by Friday, October 20th. Those who are approved will create a one page "poster" and a 60 second speech to tell students about their clubs during a morning assembly on Wednesday, October 25th.
• There is a school dance coming up on Friday night, October 27th
• Tuesday, October 31st other people know as Halloween but at IVA it's called Virtueen where you can dress up as creatively as possible as long as your costume represents a virtue. Think creatively!!

Teachers also get to share virtue practices in this ceremony. Exit through the glass doors to the blacktop!