Kindergarten to Grade 8 students at John T. Tuck Public School have been taking part in a positive initiative with a school-wide focus on treating everyone with kindness and respect.
Called Make An Impact, Spread Kindness, the Equity Team at the Burlington school created the activity, drawing inspiration from the learning taking place around celebrations such as Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas. The activity works like this: numerous folders hang on a bulletin board in a hallway with suggested ways to spread kindness. Students pick an envelope and follow the kindness instructions.
Teachers Christine Mills and Chiara Palumbo, part of the school’s Equity Team, have been overwhelmed by the response from students.
“Students are invited to take a moment to intentionally celebrate their peers in a meaningful way,” Mills says.
New ideas are constantly being added to the board, she says.
“‘Kindness missions’ are tied directly to HDSB’s 2020-2024 Muti-Year Plan, in particular the Equity and Well-Being area of focus,” says Palumbo. “The aim is to encourage students to extend their connections beyond their immediate friends and help build a caring and inclusive community. We believe that a sense of belonging is at the heart of building a healthy school culture, which is essential for providing the groundwork for the work we champion on the Equity Team.”
Grade 7 student, Adrie, pulled the following act of kindness from the envelope - “ask someone about their day”.
“This is an important act because you never really know what is going on in someone’s personal life,” Adrie says. “Just asking them may make them feel a bit better. When someone asks me about my day, it makes me feel happier.”