East End Elementary students recently kicked off the school’s first Fun Friday of the year with a focus on citizenship, combining character education, teamwork, and hands-on learning.
Throughout the 2026–2027 school year, East End students will explore character traits from the Congressional Medal of Honor Character Development Program. The school began the year with citizenship, which students learned means helping take care of the people and places in their school and community.
To introduce the concept, students read Say Something! by Peter H. Reynolds. Teachers led conversations about how good citizens pay attention to what is happening around them, care about others, speak up when something is wrong, and take action to make their community better.
Students then put those ideas into practice through interactive relay challenges. During the activities, students were presented with different situations and worked together to determine how a good citizen should respond.
Students also created Citizenship Keychains as a hands-on reminder of the lessons they learned. Each colored bead represented an important part of being a good citizen:
• Red — Speak Up
• Blue — Help Others
• White — Do the Right Thing
• Yellow — Include Others
• Green — Care for Our School
The event was organized and led by East End’s Related Arts teachers, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Spearman, and Mrs. Butler, a parent volunteer. Their goal was to create an experience that allowed students to learn about character through movement, conversation, decision-making, and creativity.
Fun Friday is designed to give students opportunities to build character while connecting those lessons to choices they make every day.
Students left the event with more than a handmade keychain. They also carried with them an important message: even small choices to help others, include someone, speak up, care for their surroundings, and do what is right can make a big difference.
At East End Elementary, citizenship is not simply a character word students learn—it is something Bulldogs are encouraged to put into action every day.