Safe School Rally rewards students
Published 1:03 am Saturday, September 6, 2014
R.B. Hudson students raise their hands in response to one of radio personality JoJo McToy questions during the schools’ kick off event for the Safe School Rally. Held at the school’s gym, the rally is mean to reward students who display good behavior. (Sarah Robinson | Times-Journal)
R. B. Hudson Middle School’s gym was booming with cheers Friday when radio personality JoJo McToy made an appearance at the schools’ kick off event to the Safe School Rally.
The school has issued a discipline plan for the students and Friday’s event is their way of rewarding the students who have displayed appropriate since its early-year implementation. Next Friday, at 1:30 p.m., District Judge Bob Armstrong will visit the school to encourage good behavior during the official Safe School Rally.
“Research says to make sure that a positive behavior incentive program is also in place,” R.B. Hudson Middle James Pope said. “We are actually giving the kids something, so they can understand that we do recognize the ones who are behaving according to what our plan asks for.”
The school will hold a Safe School Rally each month of the school year with a different surprise guest.
When Davis asked McToy, with 105.7 FM, to join the Safe Schools Rally as a special guest, he didn’t hesitate to accept. As someone who benefited from Davis’ mentoring, McToy said he understands the power of giving back.
“When you have chance to come back and give the same message that was given to you, you can’t let that opportunity pass you by,” McToy said. “My dad always told me … that you can have all the success in the world, but if you didn’t help anybody along the way, you really didn’t have a successful life.”
Afterwards, McToy joined assistant principal Keith Davis in completing the ALS Ice Challenge. Fellow R.B. Hudson assistant principal Cicely Curtis challenged Davis to complete the challenge after students drenched her with ice water last week.
As a part of the official challenge, participants have to get soaked with a bucket full of ice water or donate $100 to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. Then they must challenge three others to complete it.
Curtis said she hopes the Safe School Rally will motivate those who are not displaying standards of excellence to improve.
“Those students who are not onboard, I want them to get onboard,” she said.
“I want them to see we’re rewarding the positive, so they’ll think, ‘Hey, I might as well get on this train, too.’”
