Positive School Culture
The staff at PS 256 implement routines and procedures that create a welcoming and affirming environment for all. Our goal is to teach and model for our students the use of appropriate tone, and ways to create a positive community in the school and the world-at-large.
The Sandford Harmony Curriculum is our school’s blueprint for establishing and maintaining a positive school climate. Each teacher establishes, with their students, classroom agreements that guide student behavior inside and outside the classroom. Productive, positive behaviors are expected at all times including during lunch & recess, while participating in before and after school programs, and while on field trips or representing the school at events.
Daily Classroom Practices
Every day, students in Pre-K through 5th Grade participate in the following activities aligned to this curriculum to strengthen bonds and build social emotional skills:
Harmony Goals
Students set personal and class goals that they will check in on and work to achieve.
Meet-Up
Students gather in a circle to establish and monitor expectations for how to treat one another, share experiences, solve problems and build community.
Buddy-Up
This is a peer buddy system that creates opportunities for students to get to know one another, form connections, collaborate and learn together.