September 22, 2021

Dear Brighten Parents and Students in Grades 2-8,

We are excited to send home our 7 Cs Deck for the 2021-2022 school year. If you are new to Brighten, we hope you find this deck an exciting opportunity for you to work on the 7Cs outside of the school day. The deck is designed to motivate students to go above and beyond to demonstrate understanding and application of the 7Cs and how they relate to being ethical people and effective learners. Completion of the deck is optional, but we certainly encourage all second-eighth grade students to work on completing the fun activities.

If you decide to participate in the 7Cs deck, we ask that you complete two activities per “C”, for a total of 14 tasks by Monday, April 18, 2022. Many of the tasks include a presentation to your Crew, so be sure to plan ahead. All students who complete the deck will receive a special award at the end of the year. To help motivate and encourage your child to participate, students who complete 7 activities before January 14, 2022, are eligible to attend a special, fun-filled Green Party.

​The deck also serves as the foundation for our highest award in character, the Green Shirt. In order to earn a Green shirt a student must complete the 7 Cs Deck and have a clear discipline record for the year. Our teachers have also decided to implement an appeal route for students who receive one discipline referral but meet the other criteria for the award. More information about the appeal will be sent home on an as needed basis. We have awarded more than 2000 green shirts over the years, and we hope to be able to award many more!

The following rules and guidelines apply for receiving credit for the 7Cs tasks:
  • Tasks should be completed during the current school year.
  • Tasks should be completed by the student. We value student work and do not expect perfection. Students should be able to fully explain and share their activities with the class. If students are unable to do this they will not receive credit for the activity.
  • Tasks MAY NOT be school assignments, field trips, or required activities from the school. Remember, the purpose is for the student to extend his/her learning.
  • You may not count the same task in two different areas. Club leaders will advise to exceptions to this rule.
  • All tasks must be verified by the appropriate adult (teacher, coach, club sponsor, parent, etc.).
  • Supporting evidence (when possible) must be presented to the class. For example, if your child creates a scrapbook then he/she will bring the scrapbook into class and share it with the students. Please allow time for the presentation well before the deadline date. To respect learning time, students are expected to get teacher’s permission and recommendations for an appropriate time to share with the class.
  • Make sure your child’s teacher knows your child has something to present for the deck. The teachers sometimes are not aware if your child is just sharing something special or if it is to count for the deck. Please make sure your child has his/her deck when presenting projects to the class so that the teacher may verify.
  • All tasks have to be completed and presented by April 18, 2022. Late submissions will not be accepted.
  • We have revised the deck accordingly, but please be sure to follow all social distancing guidelines when completing your activities.

Special Update for our 6-8 Students: We award a Green Hoodie (instead of a Green Shirt) to the eligible sixth and seventh graders, and our eighth graders receive a green honor cord at their graduation ceremony.

We are committed to increasing awareness about the importance of our 7 Cs, and we are confident that this will help to improve our school culture and instruction. Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions related to the 7 Cs Deck or criteria for the green shirt.

Sincerely,

Lisa McDonald