Well-being News

Living Our School Value: Be Responsible Through Showing Integrity

Over the next fortnight, we will be reinforcing our school value of Be Responsible by focusing on integrity.

What is integrity?Integrity means doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching. It is about being honest, trustworthy, and making good choices, even when it might be difficult.

For children, integrity can look like:

• Telling the truth, even when they have made a mistake.
• Taking responsibility for their actions.
• Following school expectations when a teacher is not nearby.
• Being fair and including others in games and activities.
• Returning something that does not belong to them.
• Completing their work to the best of their ability.

For our students this would mean, thinking about a day when your class has a Casual Relief Teacher (CRT). Showing integrity means continuing to follow classroom expectations, listening respectfully, and doing your best learning.

Students could ask themselves:

• Do I treat a CRT the same way I treat my regular teacher? Why or why not?
• How might my behaviour affect the CRT's day?
• How might my choices affect my classmates' ability to learn?
• Am I making responsible choices because they are expected, or because they are the right thing to do?

When students show integrity with a CRT, they help create a positive learning environment where everyone feels respected, safe, and able to learn. They also make the teacher feel welcome and supported. When students choose not to show integrity, it can make it harder for the teacher to teach, reduce learning time for the class, and impact the experience of their peers.

When students demonstrate integrity, they help create a safe, respectful, and positive school community where everyone can learn and thrive.

Integrity is shown through the choices we make every day, especially when no one is watching.

How Families Can Support Integrity at Home

Families play an important role in helping children develop integrity. You can support this learning by:

• Acknowledging and praising honesty, even when mistakes have been made.
• Talking about why honesty and responsibility are important.
• Encouraging children to take ownership of their actions and solve problems when things go wrong.
• Modelling integrity in everyday situations, such as keeping promises and being truthful.
• Discussing real-life examples of people showing integrity.

Conversation Starters for Home

• What does "doing the right thing" mean?
• Can you think of a time when it was hard to be honest?
• Why is it important to take responsibility for our mistakes?
• How can you show integrity at school, at home, or with your friends?
• How does showing integrity help others trust us?

Picture story books that highlight the importance of integrity; 

Foundation – Year 2

📖 The Empty Pot – Demi

📖 What If Everybody Did That? – Ellen Javernick (Illustrated by Colleen Madden)

📖 Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Monkey on His Back – Howard Binkow

Years 3–4

📖 The Honest-to-Goodness Truth – Patricia C. McKissack (Illustrated by Giselle Potter)

📖 Enemy Pie – Derek Munson (Illustrated by Tara Calahan King)

📖 A Bad Case of Stripes – David Shannon

Years 5–6

📖 Each Kindness – Jacqueline Woodson (Illustrated by E. B. Lewis)

📖 The Invisible Boy – Trudy Ludwig (Illustrated by Patrice Barton)

📖 The Hundred Dresses – Eleanor Estes (Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin) 

By working together, we can help our children develop the confidence and character to make responsible choices and show integrity in all areas of their lives.

Johanne Abbott

Well-being