After asking a Marlborough student to clean up after a group of girls who left trash on the tennis courts at lunch, Middle School Assistant Kassandra Vergara felt proud knowing a student would do something positive to help the school, despite not being the one to leave the mess. As a result, she felt inspired to create Honorable Actions.

Marlborough teachers and faculty can now award students with Honorable Actions for good behavior on campus. Honorable Actions are notifications that are sent virtually through MyMarlborough and are counterparts to Conduct Infractions. Students can be rewarded for anything from following the rules in class to being good citizens within the school community.

The idea was initiated last November by Vergara, who hopes they will positivety around the school.

“I thought there should be a way we can reward a student and make something that is honorable, instead of negative with a conduct infraction,” Vergara said. “I hope that honorable actions are a positive thing for parents to receive as well as students.”

Dean of Student Life Regina Rosi Mitchell said she hopes the Honorable Actions will acknowledge the good deeds around campus that usually go unnoticed.

“The reality is, I think as educators and even at other institutions too, we tend to focus on the bad and the 10% of things that aren’t going well or the 10% of students that aren’t in dress code every day, but if you really think about it, the majority of students are doing the right thing,” Rosi Mitchell said. “We [want to] call out those students and let them know that we see them doing good things.”

There are differing opinions among Marlborough students regarding to what extent Honorable Actions will impact the student body. Miya ‘20 is unsure of the effects Honorable Actions will have in encouraging commendable behavior.

“I don’t necessarily think that positive reinforcement through Honorable Actions is going to make a major difference in the student body behavior, but I think it is a nice gesture,” Miya said.