Positive notes home

This year my school has become a PBIS school (Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports) and part of that involves focusing an maximizing achievement for all students by building a strong rapport with each child. My principal put it this way "You want each and every child to feel as though they are the teacher's pet." I love that. So one of the things I'm doing is every week or so I send home a note to a student telling them something that I appreciate about them or how they've improved in a certain area.

Now I know that so many of you GREAT teachers already do notes like this. A teacher at my school had this idea and I thought it was so smart. You get a picture and then use a photo editing site (I love picnik.com) and write a positive message on it. Then you handwrite your note to the child on the back. It's fun because they have a picture of themselves (I use the pictures I took on the first day of school) and it helps you keep track of the kids who've already received their note.

How cute is this stud?!? BTW This is not one of my firsties (b/c I don't use their faces in my posts) this is my very handsome nephew Matt who is already a 6th grader!