Program Overview

It's a Big Deal, Students Care is a signature program developed by Sonnys Real Pit BBQ and WMBB News 13 in
conjunction with Bay District Schools. It was developed as an endeavor to promote positive character development
within our community. It is an unexpected recognition of individuals that spark good spirits within the communities in
which we live and is specifically geared toward recognizing the unsung heroes we find in our youth.

We all know students in our communities who selflessly give their time and talents to others with little recognition.
This program was developed in an effort to spread that spirit to others in order to feed the soul of our local
communities with goodness.

How It Will Work

A. Principals will accept nominations from teachers throughout the week and submit ONE STUDENT NAME to Michelle
Weis in the district Public Information Office via email by Thursday at NOON beginning on SEPTEMBER 14th. The
selection committee will then choose an overall weekly district winner and send their name to WMBB News 13.
WMBB will set a time up with the principal to meet with the weekly district winner in an interview the following week.
The weekly district winner will be announced on the news the week after interview on Monday and Tuesday. In
addition, all students submitted by their schools that week will also be recognized on the WMBB News 13
website.

The weekly winner from each school will be presented with various prizes handed out by the principal each week.
District winners will be invited, along with two guests, to attend the Its a Big Deal Student of the Year of BBQ Banquet
at the end of the school year. Those schools who do not have a district winner at the end of the 25 weeks, will pick one
representative to support their school for the banquet.

B. All teachers in every grade level may nominate a student by describing why the student should be recognized.
Principals will determine when nominations must be submitted at the school level in order to meet the district
deadline each Thursday. Nominations must be filled out on the attached form and submitted as an email attachment
to

the principal or designated administrator. Please verify on the form that the selected student has a video release on
file with the school. Be sure to save the completed form on a computer before attaching it as it could come through
blank.

C. Nominees should exhibit one of the following criteria: an incredible act of generosity; is a trendsetter and has
paved the way for others; has made a difference in someones life; represents the image of a true friend; has made a
positive impact in the community; shows dedication to school work, family life, and community; or has shown an act
of heroism. For example, a student stands up for someone instead of siding with a bully, is kind to a new or younger
student, views the under-privileged as equals, may be under-privileged but sees only opportunities and not obstacles,
or spends time tutoring or mentoring younger students.

D. Other points to consider when nominating a student.

1. Love. This word for love doesnt refer to warm feelings but to a deliberate attitude of good will and devotion to
others. Love gives freely without looking at whether the other person deserves it, and it gives without expecting
anything back.

Question: Does the student you are nominating display a deliberate attitude of good will toward others without
expecting anything in return?

2. Joy. Unlike happiness, joy is gladness that is completely independent of the good or bad things that happen in the
course of the day. Joy is a product of fixing your focus on the purposes for the events in your life rather than on the
circumstances.

Question: Does the student you are nominating emanate a sense of joy toward others?

3. Peace. Its not the absence of turmoil, but the presence of tranquility even while in a place of chaos.

Question: Does the student you are nominating present peaceful resolutions during difficult situations?

4. Kindness. When kindness is at work in a persons life, he or she looks for ways to adapt to meet the needs of
others. It is moral goodness that overflows. Its also the absence of malice.

Question: Does the student serve others with kindness seeking ways to meet the needs of others?

5. Goodness. While kindness is the soft side of good, goodness is a reflection of character and the desire to find
goodness in others.

Question: Does the students actions reflect goodness and the desire to help others experience goodness in their own
lives?

6. Faithfulness. A faithful person is one with real integrity. He or she is someone others can look to as an example,
and someone who is truly devoted to others. Faithfulness is evident in the life of a person who seeks good for others.

Question: Could the student be thought of as a good role model?

7. Self-control. Self-control is restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires. It also means that
an individual knows right from wrong. .

Question: Does the student continually make good choices regardless of the choices of others?