Each year the Apex Leadership Company selects a theme to emphasize throughout their two-week program leading up to Apex events such as Fun Runs and Color Battles. Each theme encourages positive character development and leadership building skills that are shaped around the principals of national Social and Emotional Learning and PBIS standards, and this theme is no different. Apex has announced that the 2019-2020 theme is Game On, with lessons that are geared towards helping students manage their time and feelings and showing them how to be aware of and care for others, solve problems and make great decisions. Each letter in the theme represents an area of focus including:

— The G in game represents being a GO GETTER at any age. Leaders can take action every single day — there’s no need to wait to be great!

— The A stands for APPRECIATE. This involves teaching students to place value on the world and people around them, as well as their unique gifts and talents to learn to appreciate what they have.

— By staying focused on the future, students can MOVE FORWARD to overcome their fears and understand that mistakes are simply an opportunity to learn.

— The E stands for EXPLORE. Being curious and having the courage to try new things afford students endless opportunities to learn, discover and explore!

— This letter helps students understand that putting OTHERS FIRST without any expectation of getting something in return, even when it’s convenient, is a strong characteristic of true leaders.

— The N stands for NOW WHAT, which encourages students to ask themselves how they can make a positive impact on the world around them. It also inspires children to think about what’s important to them, and how they can set goals and form habits to focus on turning their visions for the future into reality.

The Apex Leadership Company encourages students to be the best version of themselves through these positive themes — not just through the course of the two-week Apex program, but every day throughout their lives. It is the goal that these positive leadership lessons will serve as the building blocks that students will continue to use as the foundation for their strong characters as they develop through various stages of childhood and into adulthood.