Classroom, Lockers, & Flex Spaces
Sparty is bored in class. He decides to try to get the attention of his friend who is sitting on the other side of the room by making noises. It works and his friend notices, but now other students are looking at him too. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. Sparty is not being respectful to his teacher or to the other students in his class. He is unengaged and is not allowing others to learn.
Sparty asks to leave class to use the bathroom. He notices that there is someone else in the bathroom and thinks it would be funny to knock on that person's stall door. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. By bothering someone else in the bathroom, Sparty is not being respectful to that peer.
Sparty is playing 9 square with some friends at recess when the bell rings. Recess is over. He drops the ball and walks away to go inside. He thinks to himself, "someone else will bring the ball in." Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. It isn't responsible to assume someone else will bring the ball in. Sparty could have carried the ball in himself or should make sure someone else has it.
Sparty chooses a seat and sits down on the bus. After the bus starts moving, he realizes his friend is 2 seats back. He really wants to sit by his friend so they can talk about their plans to go to the football game this weekend. Should he move to his friend's seat while the bus driver isn't looking?
No. Getting up and moving around the bus while the bus is moving is not safe or responsible. Sparty should show The Spartan Way by staying in his seat. He and his friend can talk about their plans tomorrow morning on the ride to school instead.
Sparty isn't feeling well. He tells his teacher and asks to go to the nurse. His teacher gives him a blue slip and Sparty waits patiently in a chair until Ms. McCarty is free. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
Yes. Sparty is being responsible by waiting patiently for his turn and respecting the privacy of the student ahead of him.
At the beginning of class, Sparty asks Mrs. Cardell to go see someone about something that happened at recess. She asks if it is an emergency and Sparty says it is not. She tells him that she doesn't want him to miss instruction, but says that she will call Mrs. Prochnow or the counselors when it is work time. How should Sparty respond?
Sparty agrees and waits until work time to talk to someone.
Sparty is running late to class. He is worried about missing the bell, but he knows it isn't right to run in the hallway and distract other classes. Sparty walks as quickly as he can without running and makes it to class just as the bell is ringing. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
Yes. Even though he was running late, Sparty was safe by walking instead of running and he showed responsibility by being mindful of other classes around him. He also arrived to class on time. Good work, Sparty!
Sparty just finished his lunch and is excited to get out to recess. He dumps his tray and some of his garbage falls on the floor. He wants to get outside before all of the swings are taken. He leaves the mess and runs outside. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. It is not responsible to leave a mess behind for someone else to clean up. Sparty should have taken the time to clean up the mess he made before going out to recess. He should also be safe by walking, instead of running.
Sparty is on the bus on the way home and is sitting near the front. He remembers that he forgot to tell his friend something, but his friend is in the back of the bus. Sparty yells to his friend and is disruptive to everyone else on the bus. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. Sparty is being overly loud and disruptive on the bus. Creating a chaotic bus ride can be unsafe for the driver and other passengers.
Sparty loves to read! He loves going to the library and having Ms. Dufek help him pick out new books to read. He always takes good care of the books and returns them on time. Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
Yes! He is being responsible with library materials, asks for help to find new books to read, and returns materials on time so others can use them too.
Sparty worked really hard on his math homework last night. During Target Time, his friend tells him that he forgot to do his and asks to copy Sparty's work. Sparty tells his friend it's in his locker, so his friend asks Sparty to give him his locker combination. Sparty wants to help his friend, but doesn't feel right about what his friend is asking him to do. How should Sparty respond?
Sparty should tell his friend "no". It's against The Spartan Way to share his locker combination or let someone copy his work. He can encourage his friend to do his own work with the time they have left in TT. Sparty's friend might not like that response, but that's okay. He did the right thing by telling his friend "no".
Sparty notices a big mess in the bathroom. What should he do?
A. Sparty shouldn't do anything. He didn't make the mess so it's not his responsibility to clean up.
B. Tell an adult so it can get cleaned up.
C. Add his paper towels to the mess because the garbage can is starting to fill up.
B! Be responsible and respectful by seeing a problem and fixing the problem!
Sparty is eating lunch with his friends. They are talking about their favorite video games and are getting pretty loud. Mr. Hutter asks them to quiet down. Sparty and his friends should:
A. Agree, and continue their conversation at a lower volume.
B. Ignore the request and continue to talk loudly. Their video game is important!
C. Change their conversation to a different topic.
A. There is nothing wrong with talking about an interest area with friends, as long as it is appropriate. Sparty and his friends are being respectful by following Mr. Hutter's request.
Sparty is on the bus. He sees his friend walking on the sidewalk and wants to say hi. Sparty stands up and sticks his head and arm out the window to wave. Which character trait is Sparty breaking?
A. Respectful
B. Responsible
C. Safe
D. Resilient
C! It is not safe to stand up on the bus while it is moving or to hang out of the window.
Sparty needs a book for silent reading. He asks his Foundations teacher to go to the library to get a book. Sparty takes a little longer to get to the library because he doesn't really like reading and doesn't want to do it. Once at the library, he sees one of his best friends and uses some time to talk to his friend rather than picking out a book. When asked by Mrs. Dufek to hurry up, he just grabs a random book that he is not even interested in, so when silent reading comes up in Foundations next time, he can go to the library again. Is Sparty following the Spartan Way?
No! When visiting the library, it is important to follow expectations by finding a book in a timely manner.
Sparty is working in the flex space during Science. His friend takes his pencil and starts playing keep away. Now Sparty doesn't have a pencil to work on his Science worksheet. What should Sparty do?
A. Take his friend's worksheet as payback.
B. Ask his friend for his pencil back.
C. Chase his friend until he gets his pencil back.
B! The behavior displayed by Sparty's friend is disrespectful and he is not thinking of the impact of his actions on Sparty's learning and feelings. If Sparty is unable to get his pencil back after asking for it, he should return to the classroom with his work and ask his teacher to borrow one.
Sparty is walking in the hallway passed Mrs. Olson's class. One of Sparty's best friends is in that class and is waving at Sparty. His friend's waving is causing a disruption to Mrs. Olson's class. Sparty doesn't want to ignore his friend, but he doesn't want to disrupt Mrs. Olson's class either. He decides to keep walking and that he will explain this to his friend later at lunch. What character trait is Sparty displaying?
A. Respectful
B. Responsible
C. Safe
D. Resilient
A and B! By choosing to continue walking and not disrupt Mrs. Olson's class through the window, Sparty is being respectful by allowing others to learn and work and he is acting as a responsible student by being mindful of other classes in session.
Sparty and his friends are playing basketball. Sparty shoots a basket and it ends up being an air ball! The basketball soars over the fence and into the grass on the other side. It's barely over the fence so Sparty thinks he can get it quick without an adult seeing him. He is just trying to be helpful...but which character trait is he not following?
A. Respectful
B. Responsible
C. Safe
D. Resilient
C! It is not safe to go outside the boundaries. Sparty should let an adult know that the basketball went over the fence.
Sparty overslept this morning and didn't have time for breakfast before getting on the bus. He's sure his bus driver won't mind if he eats a granola bar on the way to school...after all, it is important to eat so he is ready to learn...right? Is Sparty showing The Spartan Way?
No. There is no eating on the bus. Sparty should wait until he gets to school to eat his granola bar or get breakfast.
Sparty had a great time at the Pep Fest but now it's time to leave. How should Sparty exit the assembly?
A. Slowly and calmly. He should wait his turn to get off of the bleachers safely.
B. He should get off of the bleachers as quickly as possible by running down them.
A! Sparty should show patience and safe behaviors while leaving the assembly. It can be hard to wait, but everyone will get to exit the bleachers eventually.