Principal Bernal's Message:
Lunada Bay Elementary School's "Journey to Success" begins...
To start our students off on their “journey to success,” we will be partnering with Harper for Kids (HFK), a children’s nonprofit organization founded by Peanut Louie Harper and Tim Harper. We will be incorporating HFK’s Youth Character Development Program, which is based upon legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success into our character education program. HFK introduces Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success life skills through his children’s book, Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success, which Peanut collaborated on.
According to Coach John Wooden, success is “peace of mind that is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Coach John Wooden became famous for his positive coaching style that led his UCLA basketball team to 10 national championships, seven of them in a row, winning 88 straight games. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was ESPN’s COACH OF THE CENTURY.
However, Coach Wooden’s coaching style was not about winning. It was about always giving 100% effort to do your personal best! To help our students at Lunada Bay Elementary School achieve their personal best, they will be learning about Coach Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” (which is comprised of character traits necessary to achieving success in life according to his definition). We will focus on certain character traits from the Pyramid of Success throughout the school year as follows:
| September | Hard Work and Enthusiasm |
| October | Friendship and Loyalty |
| November | Cooperation |
| December | Self-Control and Determination |
| January | Alertness and Action |
| February | Fitness and Skill |
| March | Team Spirit |
| April | Poise and Confidence |
| May | Personal Best |
As we progress through the school year each subsequent character trait will build on the previous ones. Our goal is to help students learn that making the effort, 100%, is what counts most of all. “When trying your best, success comes your way.”
All the help from home to reinforce these character traits and to discuss what these attributes look like for adults as well as children will help our teachers make it a consistent, valuable program for our Lunada Bay Elementary students. Our hope is that the program will continue through their lives to help them realize their full potential.
Let’s all work together to do OUR personal best! Students, parents and teachers, all of us working to do our personal best...and along the way we will make Lunada Bay Elementary the best it can be!
I look forward to working with all of you on this exciting program to help your children achieve their personal best!
Rafael Bernal, Principal
* For more information on Harper for Kids, visit www.harperforkids.org
* For more information on Coach John Wooden, visit www.coachwooden.com