Above: (Left) EAFK PreK-4th Award Medallion and
(Right) EAFK Order of the Black Prince Award* Medallion for 5th graders that are knighted.
The Black Prince: Born in 1330, Edward of Woodstock, the first Prince of Wales and son of England's King Edward III, was known as “The Black Prince” since his armor, and his shield of peace, were predominantly black. The Black Prince was a model of chivalry and considered the most famous medieval knight of his day
Kingwood Rotary Club had sponsored the EarlyAct FirstKnight (EAFK) social/emotional learning curriculum at Bear Branch Elementary School for 10-years...and IT"S BACK! We will sponsor starting this month and will continue to sponsor it in the upcoming 2026-2027 school year at Bear Branch Elementary School.
On Friday, May 22, 2026 we honored 32 PreK - 5th graders, plus 2 staff & volunteers, plus their families at our Knighting Ceremony for the EAFK virtue of Kindness. Our EAFK knight, Sir James, was there to inspire the students and also present them with their EAFK medal and also knight the 5th graders. This is always an exciting and emotional event.
EarlyAct FirstKnight (EAFK) Character Education Curriculum is a daily ethics and social/emotional learning curriculum for 100% of the 600+ Pre-K through 5th grade students at Bear Branch Elementary School here in Kingwood. EAFK is themed around history’s champions of chivalry; role models of various eras and cultures who lived by personal codes of high ethical standards and performed extraordinary deeds of service to humanity.
From 2011 through the 2021 school year,Kingwood Rotary Club honored over 1,860 Bear Branch Elementary students and invested a total of around $60,000 for this character development program to help improve the student's academic scores, and build strong ethics and support social/emotional learning in the hearts and minds of the students.
Each classroom will select one student that best exemplifies the virtue being taught and we will hold a special Knighting Ceremony to recognize each student. Parents will be secretly invited to attend and as the classroom teachers reads a special accolade about why the student was selected, parents and family members will join them on the stage to surprise their student. We'll have a special "Gallery of Champions" seating section for the students, plus family members will also have a special seating section on the stage.
Multiple EAFK campuses are sponsored by other Rotary clubs here in the greater Houston area, and we're very excited to welcome it back to Bear Branch Elementary. Below is a video of an EAFK Knighting Ceremony Award ceremony at Beta Academy in Houston ISD.
Above video is of an EAFK Knighting Award Ceremony at Beta Academy in Houston.