KELLOGG — The students of Kellogg Middle School (KMS) celebrated their educational and athletic accomplishments for the first quarter, ending the assembly with an epic volleyball game between eighth-grade volleyball A-team players and the most athletic KMS teachers.

“The start of the school year has gone by fast,” said Principal Curt Randall-Bayer, “KMS is already celebrating the end of the first quarter. Even better than that, we are celebrating the success of our new PBIS program to support good decision making, when our students are at school and school activities.”

KMS was able to maintain a grant for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) with the support of the Superintendent of the Kellogg Schools Lance Pearson.

“KMS has a staff member at each grade level to help implement the program. Over the summer, teachers Jeff Stuart, Angie Colburn and Jamie Shorey attended a conference to learn about the program,” Randall-Bayer said. “Each staff member has an opportunity to recognize a student. Our goal is to recognize students who practice safety, act responsibly, work hard and show respect.”

He went on to explain that each time a student gets a PAWS card from a staff member, they come down to the office to receive a small reward, and if they remain in a positive standing (no referrals for the month), they are eligible for a monthly drawing for a gift certificate from a local business.

“Our PBIS program has been a great incentive to support our students. Our goal is to continue to recognize 'progress over perfection,'” Randall-Bayer said.

This month, 86 students received a PAWS card for their exemplary behavior and also won a gift card from The Beanery.

The lucky winners for this month were Paige Yrjana (eighth grade), Jacob Katt (seventh grade) and Addie Sawyer (sixth grade).

PBIS is an evidence-based three-tiered framework to improve and integrate all of the data, systems and practices that affect students as they learn from day to day. In layman’s terms, PBIS seeks to reduce or eliminate poor behavior schoolwide by encouraging positive behaviors like recognizing students who practice safety, act responsibly, work hard and show respect.

If anyone is interested in making a charitable donation to the program to support the monthly and year-end awards, feel free to contact Curt-Randall Bayer or Gyna Furlin at Kellogg Middle School by visiting https://kms.kelloggschools.org/ or calling 208-784-1311.