The week before mid-winter recess has been a special one at Hillside Elementary School.
With the help of School Counselor Juliann Snyder, the Safety Patrol galvanized their classmates to take action with a week of kindness. Below are links to each of the pre-recorded assembly segments.
Spirit Day activities have included “Sock it to Meanness with Silly Sock Day,” “Powered by Kindness & Dress as a Superhero," “Ride the Kindness Wave & Wear Beach Gear,” and “Backwards Day to Turn Your Back on Bullying.” Tomorrow will be “We Dream of Kindness Pajama Day.”
But that’s not all. In recognition of its youngest readers and their love for books, the school hosted a “We LOVE to Read” Valentine’s Day Parade. Guided by their teachers, kindergartners circled the hallways in superhero costumes, raising their favorite books for the other grades to see. Students cheered each other on to the sound of the famous song ABC by The Jackson Five.
“Staff and students are encouraging our youngest learners as they begin their reading journey,” said kindergarten teacher Nina D’Amato. “What better way to celebrate their happiness than with a parade on Valentine’s Day!”
Ms. D'Amato and Ms. Cort's kindergarten class combined forces with Ms. Kravits and Ms. Portillo's third grade class on Valentine's Day, too, and students created friendship snacks to honor their reading buddy partnerships.
The kindness challenge was another activity that took place throughout the week. During their lunch periods, students across grade levels wrote acts of kindness on color coded slips of paper. Each grade will link their kindness slips together and the grade with the largest number of links will win extra recess.
“Ms. Snyder reminds us that being kind doesn’t always come with a reward, though,” said fourth grader Grace D. “Making someone feel good makes you feel good. That’s the reward.”
Watch a short video below for a behind-the-scenes look into the excitement of Kindness Week's spirit days, the "We LOVE to Read" Valentine's Day Parade, and the kindness link challenge.
