Unique assembly reinforces QE’s positive behavior

Mrs. Held's grant from the Quakertown Community Education Foundation helps fund an assembly to reinforce positive behavior.
Posted on 03/12/2020
Students hold onto steel rod while being lifting off the ground by Titan.By Gary Weckselblatt

Students in Quakertown Elementary School dressed like superheroes and heard from a superhero, who shared with them his message about how each of them can become a superhero.

Titan, from Omegaman & Friends, was brought to QE by fourth-grade teacher Christa Held, with a grant she obtained from the Quakertown Community Education Foundation.

His unique assembly included important messages about Anti-Bullying, Character Development and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in a fun way that captured the attention of the K-5 students and hopefully helps them retain the message for the long term.

“They were all engaged the entire time,” Mrs. Held said. “PBIS is something that we as teachers talk about all day long. But today they heard this message from someone else, and it’s something that will continue to resonate with them. They won’t forget the things Titan did on stage. He is a great role model. I highly recommend this program.”

Titan is Joe Johnson, a former football player at Northern Alabama and a state powerlifting champion. He used his strength to lift students and a teacher (yes, Mr. Wieand volunteered!), ripped a 400-page book, twisted a steel bar that had held up students, and broke a wooden baseball bat on his leg.

All the while he’s explaining his message of doing the right thing, making the right choices and being an upstander, not a bystander.

“Every day, it should be your mission to put a smile on the face of somebody who’s having a bad day,” Titan said.

QE teacher Melissa Riedi said Titan’s message was “highly engaging and powerful.”

Principal Dr. Michael Zackon said Mrs. Held did an “outstanding job obtaining the grant,” and organizing the assembly with the help of teachers and support staff. “It was a wonderful learning event for our students and I want to thank our tremendous educators for putting this together,” he said. “The entire program was a huge success!”

Following the 45-minute assembly, students in each QE classroom opened their “challenge” folder to find their next task: Create a decorated door of kindness.

Titan was impressed with the behavior of QE students. “You cannot have a good program without good kids,” he said. “They were excellent. This is a great school. I’ve been doing this for 16 years and this is as good as it gets.”

Gary Weckselblatt, QCSD Director of Communications, writes about the people and the programs that impact the Quakertown Community School District. He can be reached at 215-529-2028 or [email protected].
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