Be Somebody

Pine Bluffs Elementary School System has adopted a new program called "Be Somebody". This program is designed to help children and young adults to understand what is takes to be an upstanding person and a positive influence to their community and the people around them. The program is aimed at the elementary school level student and is designed to teach and instill a set of values that will help them to grow within their families, communities and future endeavors.

The "Be Somebody" program was started by the Boys and Girls Club of Casper, Wyoming and has been a success in that community. The program was inspired by the works of Mr. Jim Owen, author of the book "Cowboy Ethics and and the Code of the West". The book lists 8 different values that the program is based on. Each Value has a set of games and activities, based on the age of the class that make the learning and remembering fun and easy. The 8 values that the program is based on are: Courage, Duty, Optimism, Respect, Honor, Heart, Fairness and Authenticity.

Every month Mrs Emily Cosner, a counselor at Pine Bluffs Elementary, and her students work on a different value. Mrs Cosner states that the cool thing about this program is that the lessons are based all around games and activities. Each set of games are based on the particular value that is being taught and helps the students understand the value and reinforce them in the students minds.

Pine Bluffs is not the only school system to see the potential for this program. Carpenter and Burns school systems have also adopted program. In a couple of weeks 2 instructors from Casper will come down and provide a training class to the entire staff on how to implement this program into the classroom . "This will help to reach more students" Mrs Cosner states.

As each of the teachers are trained they will be incorporating the value of the month into their curriculum for that month. As of this time most the the instructing is being done in Mrs Cosner's Guidance class. She mentioned that she has a book full of games that help the teachers to motivate the students in the particular value. All this is designed to help the students to become better persons, to help others and be a positive influence to their peers and community.