I thought about the type of legacy I wanted my kids to have drilled into them as they went through their school life… I thought about what type of high-school kids I wanted them to be and realised those principles had to be ingrained early. So, my kids must have heard me say this over 100 times…

1. Be nice to the mean kids
   (Don’t seek revenge, don’t get angry, practice being polite and not aggravating the situation. And don’t be one of them!)
2. Look after the weak kids
   (Include them when the mean kids leave them out, protect them from the mean kids, stick up for them when they’re getting bullied, help them when they fall over.)
3. Don’t just do what your teachers say, rather, be good.
   (This one always get’s their attention, and that’s the point. I don’t want them to ONLY do what their teachers say, nor do I want them to SIMPLY do what their teachers say. I want them to think… and sometimes say “No, I’m not doing that” and other times say, “I wasn’t told to do this, but I think it’s a good thing to do.”)
4. I love you
   (I always want to leave them with this thought in their mind.)