PBS committee seeks to overhaul program

The PBS program is a program that provides a reward system almost for students to show positive behaviors and their ROAR. PBS is an acronym for Positive Behavior System. Events and programs provided by PBS include lion loot, movie days, hat days, theme days and much more.

Lion loot is a way of rewarding good behavior in school by giving out a small sheet of paper that can be cashed in for a prize and admission to certain events. The PBS previously held an annual kickoff assembly earlier in the school year. However, this year they discontinued the assembly.  The PBS ROAR store is also closed this year.

“That makes me so mad. I think it’s stupid we don’t have it because it’s a good way to get students pumped for the school year. It gives them an opportunity to see how fun the junior high is,” ninth grader Makayla Stevens said.

Stevens used to love going to these assemblies.

“I am really angry that we don’t get lion loot anymore because lion loot encourages us to be better students and we used to use it a lot, and they shut down the roar student and it’s not fair that the seventh graders don’t get to experience it like we did,” Stevens said.

Stevens saved over 200 lion loot over the span of her seventh and eighth grade years.

“That assembly was the stuff. That was so freaking fun, and it makes me mad that kids can’t experience the fun we did. I think it’s ridiculous and it’s crazy. It’s an outrage and it’s bullcrap,” ninth grader Eryka Moss said.

Moss wants seventh and eighth grade to have fun like the ninth grade class did when they were young.

“I think it’s stupid we don’t get lion loot because they only give us lion loot if we need it. Not because we’re good students. Which doesn’t make sense, because lion loot is what makes students behave,” Moss said.

Beth Bronson is a member of the PBS committee and participates in most activities funded by the PBS program.

“I’ve been in it since it started, I don’t know how many years that is, maybe like seven or eight,” Beth Bronson, eighth grade American Cultures teacher, said. “ We’ve done dress up days, lollipops, movie days, all of them are from PBS basically,” Bronson said.

Bronson tends to participate in most of the activities hosted at the school along with eighth grade algebra teacher Annetta Conway.

“I’ve been in for about seven years,” Conway said.

Conway is the chairperson of the committee and plans most of the events.

“I’ve participated in hat days, recess day, lollipop days, theme days, the roar store and movie days. I look forward to them,”  Conway said.

Conway has many responsibilities being the committee chairperson and has information of why the assembly was cancelled and the ROAR store was shut down.

“I think lion loot isn’t valued anymore. It’s not a true reward anymore. I think we changed leadership and when that happened, the committee wanted to kind of overhaul the program. So, we’re taking this year to do that,” Conway said.