Students paused their classwork on April 25 to take part in a schoolwide initiative emphasizing the values of Class Act. After watching a video explaining the Class Act tenets, students wrote on three strips of paper how they could respect, accept and inspire others. The strips were then linked together into paper chains and displayed throughout the school.
“What I’d like to do is show how all of us together, in our own ways, make actions or do things that help to promote a positive environment in our school,” said principal Mandy Hughes. “[Class Act actions] are things that are really noticeable sometimes, that people see, or they’re things that maybe nobody sees, that we just do when nobody’s looking.”
Class Act, which has been present at GBN for decades, is a value-based framework intended to shape how Spartans treat one another and their community. Since 2016, Class Act has centered around three tenets: accept, respect and inspire.
While Class Act messaging has remained present in posters and conversations, the initiative is now being reintroduced more intentionally through schoolwide efforts, Hughes said.
“In our school improvement committee this year, we were really looking at what is the message that we put out into the world of what GBN means and what we are,” said Hughes. “We have a couple different phrases that you hear and see around the school … So we wanted to make sure that we are giving [Class Act] enough attention and making sure that everybody fully understood what the concept means.”
Leading up to the Spartan Pride Assembly, staff members handed out raffle tickets to students who they observed exhibiting Class Act behavior. Those students were entered in a drawing to win prizes provided they were present at the assembly.
“I’ve been here for 20 years, and [Class Act] was a really big part of who we were,” said Mike Tarjan, assistant principal for student activities. “I think it kind of got lost in those COVID years, and now we are trying to find ways to rejuvenate it.”
Other schoolwide initiatives to emphasize Class Act include setting up a Class Act gram station in the library, which allows students and staff to write recognition cards for others, reviewing results of the SEL and 5Essentials surveys for the 2025-2026 school year and hosting the Class Act Breakfast, where students nominated by faculty are recognized for embodying the Class Act tenets.
Junior Evan Dalinka received a Class Act award at last year’s breakfast.
“It was truly an honor and incredible experience to be recognized for Class Act,” said Dalinka. “Through Class Act, I was able to feel appreciated and recognized by a Glenbrook North staff member.”
Hughes is also in the process of organizing a new Class Act committee that will include staff and students from a variety of backgrounds, ages and experiences to create a well-rounded representation of the student body, she said.
“Class Act can impact our community by bringing us together with some common language around our shared values that serve as a guiding light for us,” said Hughes. “GBN has such a rich tradition and rich history for being known for a great many things, academics, activities, arts, athletics, all of those different areas … and my hope is that by our continued emphasis of Class Act, that we’re also known for our humanity and good works.”