This document from Valley Park Middle School discusses the importance of character values like respect, responsibility, honesty, peace, compassion, citizenship, cooperation, integrity, courage, perseverance, tolerance, self-control and how they are taught and demonstrated by students in their classes, extracurricular activities and community service. Brief quotes are provided that relate to each value. Examples given include students working hard in math class, playing basketball, participating in a spelling bee and career fair, volunteering at a homeless shelter, cheerleading, and participating in pep rallies and contests.

1. Valley Park Middle School Character and Learning go hand in hand…

3. Respect "The highest result of education is tolerance." — Helen Keller

4. Working hard…

5. Responsibility “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” — Chinese proverb

6. Students in math class…

7. Honesty “ Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.” — Elvis Presley

8. Students playing basketball…

9. Peace "If you want to work for world peace, go home and love your families." — Mother Teresa

10. Peer Mediators working at resolving conflicts…

11. Compassion "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." — Aesop

12. After the Spelling Bee…

13. Citizenship/Service And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. -John F. Kennedy

14. NJHS students at the Ronald McDonald House – 2007

15. Cooperation We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. -Martin Luther King Jr.

16. VPMS Cheerleaders…

17. Integrity "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." — Count Leo Tolstoy

18. Students working to make a project great…

19. Courage "Courage is being scared to death — and saddling up anyway." - John Wayne

20. Students participating in a healthy heart race…

21. Perseverance "I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process." — Thomas Edison

22. Students working hard to gather information at the 2007 Career Fair…

23. Tolerance “Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.” — Jesse Jackson

24. Pep Rally games…

25. Self-Control "Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities." — Terry Josephson

26. Jello eating contest during the Pep Rally…