The aim of this study was to examine the personal moral compass of children. This is of value because children’s ability to articulate their moral outlook has been linked to sense of purpose and well-being. In a mixed-methods study, 1001 Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking children aged 12-13 years who live in the Galilee wrote short compositions about their primary values and completed three scales of well-being: sense of belongingness, sense of hope, and life engagement. The findings did not confirm the common expectation among educators regarding differences in values by demographic characteristics. Despite the region's peripheral and traditional profile and the chronic violent conflicts between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East, we found that differences in moral compass were associated with gender at least as much as with ethnic/national identity. When looking more closely into gender difference, our findings suggested a more optimistic direction for girls in the Galilee. Both Arabic- and Hebrew-speaking girls mentioned their values more often than boys did, and with a deeper commitment to practice them. Specifically, girls were more committed to values that are traditionally considered "non-feminine," such as "determination to reach a goal" and "being true to one's self," without ignoring values traditionally considered "gender-oriented " (e.g., "loyalty to others"). Overall, children who did not write compositions scored lower on all scales of well-being. This indicates that the analysis of compositions on personal moral compass is a valuable tool not only to learn about the children’s inner world, but also for early detection of "drifters" long before the problem surfaces. Encouraging children to write about their personal moral compass legitimizes discussion of values in school and may provide an avenue for better understanding of what children find important.