Broadcasting over televisions across the campus, the Bobcat News Network provides its audience with pertinent news – about elementary schools. Students at Royal Palm Beach Elementary anchor this daily newscast by a combining humor and adherence to the Six Pillars of Character to impact their young audience.

In return for its efforts, the Bobcat News Network team was honored in April by South Florida Sun-Sentinel as CHARACTER COUNTS! Kids for Responsibility. Students Stephen Hulkow, Shelley Locke, Braden Hartigan and Anne Corrigan received certificates and recognition for demonstrating responsibility and leadership. The most significant media attention was not the Sentinel article, however, but a feature segment on Bobcat News!

Among events in early 2005 at the Glenville Community Character Initiative were an essay contest and a corporate Olympics.

Students in grades 5, 7 and 10 competed in the third annual CHARACTER COUNTS! Essay Contest. The topics were:

-- Fifth graders: What does "good character" mean to you? Name someone you know who you think shows good character. How does this person show good character in his or her actions?
-- Seventh graders: Describe some of the qualities that define "good character." Name a famous person (alive or deceased) who is renowned for good character, and give examples of how his or her life decisions and actions demonstrated good character. What impact did those actions have on society? Do you think the principles of good character are important in a society and why?
-- Tenth graders: How important are integrity and ethical standards in the business world? Identify an example of an organization (for-profit or nonprofit) that has struggled with its public identity and reputation due to problems with these types of issues. Describe the circumstances leading to public criticism and some of the consequences. What steps do you believe need to be taken by the organization to restore credibility?

Essays were due April 30 with the winners selected by May 20.

In addition, the second annual Glenville Corporate Olympics took place. This event seeks to promote teamwork, good sportsmanship, fair competition, and company and community pride. Among the events was a banner contest using the CC! logo. Each team had a set amount of time to complete its banner. At the start of closing ceremony, each team parades out with its banner to take its place in the stands and hear the ceremony and awards presentation.

The CHARACTER COUNTS! Good Sportsmanship Award went to the team in the Games that most consistently demonstrated good sportsmanship in word and deed.

A celebrity sports sighting at the Oregon Gymnastics Academy was not a mere strike of good luck. Kicker Josh Brown on the Seattle Seahawks visited with local youth at the Academy’s 27th anniversary celebration of “Healthy Kids Day.”

Youth of all ages were invited to celebrate at an afternoon of sports-nutrition lectures, puppets, snacks, prizes and autographs. Jennifer Bolger, the Academy’s marketing manager, knows the Academy is an official PVWH Gold Medal Children’s Activity Center and graciously shared highlights of the exciting event.

"We have come a long ways since we joined the Coalition in January," said Bill Rousseau of Pine Crest School in May, 2005. "The program is set on solid foundation." The school's core group has finished the training sessions. The school has also established its students-mentoring-students program and run its first training session with them. Day-long sessions will take place in August and September before the mentoring sessions begin in November.

Plans for CC! Week are moving forward and in fact the entire month of October will be CC! Month on campus. The school is set to use the program with the 1650 students (Pre-K through 12) on Ft. Lauderdale campus and 850 on the Boca campus (pre-K through 8).

In addition, the school:

-- Has made presentations to faculty groups and administrators on all levels. Mr. Rousseau is scheduled to do in-service presentation to full faculties at the opening meetings in August as well to the parent groups at Back to School nights in September.
-- Has set the Honor Code signing ceremony for Fort Lauderdale 9th graders in September -
-- Has set meetings for early June with University of Miami Deans in charge of ethical education and Student Honor Code and Committee, as the school firms up the college-high school link.
-- Has initiated a bimonthly column by Mr. Rousseau in its major publication that goes to the whole school community, including alumni.
-- Has received a gift of $5,000 for character education after a recent Mother's Club meeting.
-- Has linked its Blackboard learning system to the CC! website.
-- Has initiated connections for grandparent, parent, and alumni mentoring through a series of after-school meetings in 2005/06 academic year.
-- Will produce some TV spots for its campus TV station in conjunction with its creative arts film course in the fall
--- Will set up a Character Education-CC! office and conference room on campus for next year.

"There's great support and enthusiasm on all levels," said Mr. Rousseau, "and the prospects are limitless."

Leigh Anne Campbell and Darnella Carey won the grand prizes at the eighth annual Joe Kordick Character Awards ceremony in Stuart on April 27, 2005. Each received $3,000.

"There are so many challenges that our young people have today going from childhood to adulthood," said Schools Superintendent Sara Wilcox. "I think this is one of the most special awards in Martin County."

Ms. Campbell is South Fork High's senior class vice president, and Principal Pat Schmoyer said, "She's a super, super active young lady. I'm so proud of her." Ms. Campbell has taken part in many school groups and played soccer, and she is in South Fork's International Baccalaureate program. The hurricanes seriously damaged her house, yet she made a point of helping others. "No matter what, there is always good that comes from bad situations," she said.

Ms. Carey was senior class president at Martin County High. "This means more to me than anything else," she said. "It's not for one specific thing I've done." Martin County Principal Joan Hunt said, "She is the most deserving young lady. She's a great example and involved in everything."

Both winners will attend the University of Florida in the fall of 2005. The estate of Joe Kordick, founding chairman of CHARACTER COUNTS! in Martin County, sponsors the high school awards.

Fourteen middle and high school students were honored at the event. Two eighth-graders from each middle school received a $500 savings bond, and two finalists from each high school received $500.

On April 16, 2005, 66 golfers tee up in support for CC!, playing in the third annual “Tee It Up for Character” tournament at the Monarch Country Club in Palm City. The entry fee was $125 per player, which included a free future round of golf at Monarch.

The leading golfers were:

• 1st gross: George Pacheco, Paul Regan, Jim Morgan, Tom Wilkinson.
• 1st net: Carl Guffin, Norm Perduk, Hilly Binderow, David Newton.
• Closest-to-the-pin: Tom Wilkinson.

Organizers offered special thanks to:

• Ted Brown, of Bank of America and chairman of the United Way of Martin County board of directors, for his “Beat the Banker” challenge.
• Mike and Maralyn Reilly for donating golf packages at The Medalist and Loblolly, and Leo and Delores Clancy for donating a Harbour Ridge foursome.
• Phyllis Kordick, Barbara Sundblad, Jay Pittman and the Monarch Country Club staff.
• Heart of Gold sponsors: First National Bank, Publix Super Markets Charities, Martin Memorial and Phyllis Kordick.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel honored an elementary school student who rescued a friend from a canal and an all-around good-guy high schooler as CHARACTER COUNTS! kids in April 2005.

Tommy McAllister, a second-grader at Coral Reef Elementary in an unincorporated area of Palm Beach County, saw a friend slide down an embankment and into a canal. "I just helped him out," Tommy said. "I got to the side of the canal and grabbed his hand and pulled him out."

"He doesn't brag or anything," said Debbie Jiran, guidance counselor at the school. "He does things because he knows it's the right thing."

Eric Staunton, a senior at Boynton Beach High, goes out of his way to aid others. "If he sees another student struggling with grades, understanding a math problem or chemistry problem, he'll pitch in and say, `What can I do to help you?'" guidance counselor Jad Davis told the newspaper.

Eric says helping others simply makes him feel good. "I just try to do the right thing," he said. "I just try to help out as many people as I've been able to, not only in academic life."

On April 20, 2005, the Bonner Center of Character Education honored three schools in the Clovis Unified School District -- Rayburn Intermediate, Clark Intermediate and Kastner Intermediate -- with its prestigious Virtues and Character Recognition Awards.

Michael Josephson was the keynote speaker at the event. Over 700 prospective teachers, local education dignitaries and university faculty attended.

The Bonner Center’s awards recognize exemplary local schools whose practices enhance the moral thinking and behavior of students.

Held in the Fresno Convention Center, the awards ceremony took place in conjunction with the Annual Conference on Character and Civic Education, sponsored by the dean of the School of Education at CSU-Fresno. This event emphasizes the importance of character education to the university's student teachers.