Work hard. Be kind. 

I consistently converse with my students that just about every expectation I have for how they treat themselves, their classmates, and any adult in the building at NEMS will fall under one of the two categories of working hard and being kind. I revisit my classroom expectations in detail with my students consistently, but the expectations are also explicitly stated in my syllabus if your student has me for ELA. 

Truly, I believe it is important for my students to be hard working, kind human beings. That is always our primary goal. Then everything else comes next.