Last week was National Random Acts of Kindness Week and two Frenship schools decided to encourage kindness among the students throughout the week. The Hope Squad at Terra Vista Middle School and the Student Council at Willow Bend Elementary worked to cover their campuses with words of encouragement.
At Willow Bend, the theme for Kindness Weeks was to be a “Bucket Filler”. This means to use your words and actions to fill up those around you with kindness and encouragement. One of the most engaging days was ‘Post It’ Day. The council provided ‘Post-its’ to every homeroom for students, teachers, and staff to write a kind message on a ‘Post-it’ and stick it to their desk, door, locker, or even the person themselves to help spread some kindness around.
"We could all use a few words of encouragement,” said Elisa Gonzales, the Student Council Advisor at Willow Bend. “It was nice to see the students doing it amongst themselves. To see them write messages of positivity and building each other up is something we want to stick with them!”
Throughout the day, one could see the elementary students walking around with a pack of ‘Post-its” and smiles on their faces. Doors, hallways, and classrooms across the campus were covered in encouraging notes, you could see the positivity brightening everyone's day.
“Students received positive messages all day from each other and staff,” said Gonzales. “Think about the impact that could have on someone,”
At Terra Vista Middle School, the Hope Squad wanted to emphasize that choosing to engage and participate in just the simplest acts of kindness can cause a ripple effect that can have an impact on a school community.
During student arrival time, the Hope Squad passed out notes of kind words and positive affirmations. “They wanted students to start their day by being told that they matter, they deserve kindness, and they are inspiring too,” said Courtney Miller, TVMS counselor and Hope Squad Sponsor.
To illustrate the impact one act of kindness has on a community, the Hope Squad had students fill out a card where the students wrote down an act of kindness they engaged in during the week. These cards will be displayed on the TVMS Kindness Wall for all students to see. The students only saw the one card they filled out, but with hundreds of cards turned in, the student body will get to see one act of kindness turned into hundreds.
Miller stated that the Terra Vista students enjoyed the Hope Squad's efforts throughout the week. “Seeing the students’ faces when they were handed a card that told them they mattered and how much they deserve was amazing,” said Miller. “Then filling out the cards that allowed them to reflect on a moment of kindness they were proud of helped the Hope Squad spread the message that no act of kindness is insignificant.”
Random Acts of Kindness Week was important to the Hope Squad because the overall purpose of the group is suicide prevention and spreading mental health awareness. Kindness plays a big role in the squad’s goal.
“We felt it was important to recognize and spread awareness of hope and the ripple effect kindness has during Random Acts of Kindness Week because simple acts of kindness can so often be overlooked, but the depth the impact can have on someone shouldn’t be,” said Miller. “Seeing the way kindness can affect another human being can help us grow in empathy and can help us realize how our actions affect others. That is such a special lesson for kids to learn and Hope Squad wanted our students to feel that too.”
The Terra Vista Hope Squad and Willow Bend Student Council are groups of students passionate about serving their classmates. The kindness the two groups worked to spread throughout Random Acts of Kindness Week is only a small portion of the service they put into the campus. Throughout the year, both groups serve their classmates and the community through various projects.