Panther Valley Elementary hopes students will want to be 'Cool Cats' this school year.

The school recently revamped its approach to reinforcing positive behavior in the school, with help from a new mascot.The Cool Cat may look a lot like the Panther who walks the sidelines during football games. But he has sunglasses, and teaches elementary students the behavior they're expected to display in the school.Every school, grades K-12, has some kind of program to encourage good behavior, which usually begins the first week. Principal Robert Palazzo said the mascot is a symbol for a program that will run throughout the year."This focuses on what we expect, rather than focusing on bullying and what we don't expect. So we teach students what we expect in each school setting," Palazzo said.This week, the district kicked off the program with an assembly with the Cool Cat, who demonstrated how to act in the classroom and hallway.Palazzo led them in a "We Are" chant, Penn State-style, with the students responding, "cool cats," "safe," "responsible," and "respectful" after each one.Throughout the year, teachers give out tickets recognizing students who demonstrate good behavior.But this year, they'll have greater incentives. There are monthly celebrations planned for students who meet behavioral expectations.Each day they'll recognize a Cool Cat of the day with a positive call home from the principal, and your name on the announcements. Palazzo said parent communication is a big part of the program."We encourage teachers to make positive calls home, not only call when bad things happen. We need to acknowledge when kids are doing the right thing," he said.St. Luke's Adopt A School program, which supports programs at all three Panther Valley schools, donated sunglasses. Palazzo also thanked physical education teacher Fritz Herling, who helped bring Cool Cat to the assembly.Palazzo said that studies show that 80 percent of students respond to positive behavior intervention, meaning it goes a long way toward creating a good school environment.He said he wants to build upon the program created by his predecessor, Mary Figura, and hopefully instill a sense of community in the students."It's pretty much business as usual other than trying to energize them, and make it more of a school climate, increasing that panther pride," Palazzo said.