BY KARISSA MILLER
East Iredell Elementary School welcomed hundreds of parents and community members to its highly anticipated Leadership Day on Friday.
“We are a Leader in Me School and students learn the 7 Habits (of effective leaders). This allows children to be successful in school and life,” said teacher and organizer Shaley Holmes.
The event, which started before lunchtime, began with student greeter leaders stationed at the entrance of the school, welcoming guests.
Leadership Day showcased different stations by grade level. Guests cycle through performances and presentations that illustrate The Seven Habits:
• Be proactive,
• Begin with the end in mind,
• Put first things first,
• Think win-win,
• Seek first to understand, then be understood,
• Synergize, and
• Sharpen the saw.
Students in clubs, such as Robotics, showed off their work. Those who participated in the Science Fair had their projects on display. Parents also got a first-hand look at at dual language immersion learning.
Fifth-grader Charley Sells said it’s fun to learn another language.
“It makes people so happy when someone from somewhere else knows their language,” she explained.
Sells said her younger brother is also in the DI program and that they sometimes use their Spanish to “trick our parents” when they talking in the car.
Student Karalee Rikard shared a presentation on Habit 3: Put first things first. She also put this habit into action when she was working on improving her robot game for a competition next week.
A standout student and school leader, she’s good at helping others and synergizing.
East PTO President Jean Foster said the school has a lot to offer.
“I tell people all the time that my kids get a Montessori education in a public-school setting,” she explained. “This is a great school.”
Foster said the Leadership Day is a standout celebration.
“What happens today — the leadership piece — is so vital to the school. It really showcases what is happening,” she said. “I ask pretty regularly what teachers want and they all say more parent involvement.”
East Iredell Elementary is a Stephen Covey Lighthouse School since 2017, a feat that only a couple of other Leader in Me schools in North Carolina have achieved.
The Leader in Me program is based on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and is designed to empower students with confidence, speaking skills and leadership skills to be successful. Students set personal and academic goals while tracking the progress. They take on leadership roles to help improve our entire school through a number of student activities.
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