Virtue of the Month

June | Confidence

Confidence is having faith in someone. Self-confidence is trusting that you have what it takes to handle whatever happens. You feel sure of yourself and enjoy trying new things, without letting doubts or fears hold you back. When you have confidence in others, you rely on them.

Practicing confidence is knowing you are worthwhile whether you win or lose, succeed or fail. You feel sure of yourself and gladly learn from your mistakes. You don’t allow doubt or fear to stop you. You try many new things and discover what you are best at. You think positively.

What you can do to show Confidence: 

• Know you are worthwhile and feel sure of yourself.
• Don’t let fear, doubt or worry stop you.
• Discover your talents and try new things.
• Learn from your mistakes.
• Think positively.

What you can say to show Confidence

• I am confident.
• I appreciate my gifts and give my best.
• I enjoy trying new things.
• I welcome new possibilities.

February | Friendliness

Friendliness is taking an interest in other people, being warm and courteous. When you are friendly, you happily share the things you have. You share your time, your ideas, and your feelings. You share yourself. Friendliness is going out of your way to make others feel welcome or to make a stranger feel at home. Friendliness is sharing the good times and the bad times together.

Friendliness is caring without being asked to care. Friendliness is the best cure for loneliness.

What you can do to show Friendliness

• Pick someone that you would like to get to know.
• Smile and greet that person.
• Next time you see a friend; show him/her you are happy to see him/her.
• You can be friendly just by walking down the street, or the hall at school, looking into people’s faces, and smiling at them. They will probably smile back.

What you can say to show Friendliness

“Would you like to play …?”
“What’s new with you? I’ve missed you.”

January | Diligence

Diligence is the habit of being persistent and giving your best effort in your work. Diligence causes you to achieve your goals. Diligence can be thought of as a combination of both hard work and patience. When you are diligent you take special care to do things step by step. Diligence helps you get things done with excellence and enthusiasm. Diligence is needed in all spheres of life as it is one of the key ingredients for success.

What you can do to show Diligence:

• Treat each action as important and do things carefully; one step at a time.

What you can say to show Diligence:

• "I will achieve my goal by having a plan and working at each step carefully."

December | Unity

This is a word for togetherness or oneness. Sports teams wear uniforms to show unity and their fans wear team colors for the same reason. When a bunch of people act as one and are on the same page, they're displaying unity. When people are bickering and disorganized, there is no unity. Unity helps people work and live together peacefully. When you practice unity, you feel connected to everyone and everything. Unity comes when we value each person.

What you can do to show Unity:

• Look for and think about the specialness in each person
• Think about how to solve problems peacefully

What you can say to show Unity:

• "You are unique and special."
• "Let's work together to find a solution to this problem."

November | Peacefulness

Peacefulness is an inner sense of calm. It comes especially in quiet moments of reflection or gratitude. It is getting very quiet and looking at things so you can understand them. It is being fair to others and yourself.

When you are peaceful, you respect others and their differences. People around you feel calm and safe. When you are peaceful you are respectful of your friends even when you disagree. You are able to solve problems using kind words and a soft, friendly voice. Without peace, no one is safe.

What you can do to show Peacefulness

Become very still and think peaceful thoughts.

Observe and think about your feelings, like anger, instead of acting with anger.

What you can say to show Peacefulness

“I used peaceful language and find peaceful solutions to any problem that arises.”

“Let’s find a solution that will work for both of us.”