The Vine Nine

The Vine Nine Traits are values that we prioritize, discuss, encourage, and practice within our school.  These traits become the focus of class meetings, short stories, and writing assignments... really, we take advantage of any opportunity we have to present these traits to our students!  We seek to help students develop these traits as part of their social-emotional growth.  Each term, we focus deliberately on two specific traits, but each of the “Vine Nine” remains an ongoing component of our curriculum.  The traits are as follows:

  • Grit:  being persistent, not giving up, and embracing mistakes as learning opportunities

  • Empathy:  trying to put oneself in other peoples’ shoes, seeking to understand their emotions and motivations

  • Honesty:  being truthful to oneself and others

  • Self advocacy:  speaking up for oneself and learning to act independently in one’s own best interest

  • Curiosity:  constantly asking why and how in an unending search for knowledge

  • Encouragement:  pushing others to do their best rather than making comparisons, and showing benevolence and good-will toward others

  • Zest:  possessing a passion for life and enthusiasm about living, learning, and improving

  • Gratitude:  possessing an attitude of thankfulness and being grateful for what one has

  • Optimism:  demonstrating a positive outlook on life while recognizing what one can control--even in life’s tough situations

 

How We Focus on the Vine Nine

We focus on these values in a variety of ways. Each program has a weekly class meeting that is focused specifically on these values. Teachers show videos, proctor discussions, and create activities specifically to get our students to reflect on the Vine Nine and related values. Every term, we also have school work based on our Vine Nine. In writing, we will have a writing prompt that is connected to a value. In literature, we tie our discussions of books to school values. Our youngest students read plenty of picture books that focus on on values. We even have retreat days a few times each year. Those are a day full of activities specifically focused on one of our values.