Congratulations to the 2008 Humanitarian of the Year,

Michael D. Belsky.

Mayor Belsky has dedicated himself to many initiatives during his time in office. Among those that are most notable include his:

• Commitment to affordable housing
• Dedication to the development of our community’s youth and support of their efforts to work on environmental issues, water preservation, and the improvement of local issues through Project Citizen, a national program that enables students to address and solve local issues
• Facilitation of the effort to provide additional federal and state funding to support education
• Active support of green initiatives
• Commitment to the fine arts, and
• Demonstration of concern about the youngest to the oldest throughout our community.

Congratulations to the 2008 Robert Barnard Character Counts Pillar Award Winners:

Zack Brint, Teresa Castro, Burt Chaikin, Gabriella Cooperman, Dan & Margo LaCosse, Loren Dixon, Jessica Dukatt, Sarah Elbaum, Shelly Fairman, Emma Fleisher, Anna Fox, Jason Fox, Rebecca Fox, Sarah Fox, Sheila Goldberg, Joanne Gordon, Emily Halpern, Gabriella Heller, Judy Hutton, Ivy Klee, Nathan Korn, Samantha Kraft, James Liebenson, Raizel Lieberman, Dana Maresco, Ana Morales, Nick Morof, Charlotte Nawor, Lauren Nesher, Daniel Ocampo, Barbara Paget, Sharon Palandri, Mary Jo Papich, Jovany Parra, Mary Pike, John Rachal, Grace Rhoades, John L. Ropiequet, Sophie Roskin, Don Rubin, Peter Salaban, Carly Schwartz, Barbara Sereda, Jami Sharfman, Dean Sheftel, Alyssa Smolensky, Ginger Stokes, Penny Urbon, Brian Vasquez , and Leah Wittenberg.            

The Six Pillars of Character is an integral part of the Highland Park community philosophy. To become more productive citizens of the future, children need to do more than learn the language. They also need to develop a set of core values that they can build on and call on throughout their lives to guide their behavior and attitudes. To meet this need, a nationwide movement has been implemented to strengthen individuals, families, and communities through character education.

Six "building blocks" of character - trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship - form the foundation of character education. These building blocks are inseparable parts of a complete attitude that will help children reduce risk behaviors, improve achievement and develop personal integrity.

These goals cannot be accomplished through the efforts of any one teacher, parent or institution. The responsibility for developing a nation of morally conscious students must be shared by all. Only through shared commitment can we hope to raise the level of character consciousness.

Character education is not add-on. Rather, it is a method for accomplishing the existing goals of life’s education, to help children develop all the skills they need to become successful adults. In Highland Park, we approach it as a subject that can be woven into everyday interactions with children. Youth Services integrates the ideas, activities and discussions into our everyday interactions.

If you would like to nomiate someone for a Character Counts Pillar Award please contact Charlotte Landsman at 926-1866.

Here are some examples of how we integrate the Six Pillars of Character:

• Creating visually stimulating and pervasive messages which are strategically placed around The Activity Center.
• Training the staff about Character Counts and how it can be used in day to day work with youth to create positive interactions.
• Focusing on Pillars when discussions or interventions are needed.