“Good morning,” I said enthusiastically, opening the door for one of our JK students yesterday morning. “Looking forward to a great day at school?” A big smile came across his face. “Of course,” he exclaimed, “It’s Buddies Day.”
Buddies Day. Once a month, across the campus, everything else stops for 45 minutes as we bring our students together for one of our most beloved and long-standing traditions. The program knits our community together, building relationships across the grade levels. Our younger students learn that they have older friends around campus who are there to support them and who know them by name, while our older students are reminded of the importance of being a role model and are given permission to play and have fun. Yes, even as 8th graders, our students are given opportunities to be children. It is one of the joys of an elementary school, the ability to bring different ages together and celebrate the spirit of community.
Yesterday’s Buddies Day was a particularly memorable one, as each group of students – JK/K-4th/5th; 1st-6th; 2nd-8th; 3rd-7th – created paper kindness quilts. Inspired by the children’s story The Kindness Quilt, by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, students listened to a videotaped reading of the story by librarian Kelly Scholten and then had an opportunity to design their own square for the paper quilt. Students were asked to think of an act of kindness they had seen at school, and then create an illustration to show others what had happened. Squares were attached to a paper quilt and the quilts were then hung in the office for everyone to see.
A quick perusal of the squares, reveals wonderful examples of kindness in action at Hillbrook.
“I saw someone carrying something for a person whose hands were full.”
“I saw someone playing what others wanted to play.”
“I saw someone playing with new people”
“Somebody was kind to me when they let me sit next to them on the bus when it was full.”
“Someone helped me with confusing math terms.”
“My friend gave me a hug because I was sad.”
“I volunteered to sing with a friend when she was scared to perform.”
“I saw someone open the door for the whole class.”
“My sister was kind to me when she let me use the swing.”
“After someone dropped all of their colored pencils, another person helped the person pick them up.”
“I saw a person helping someone else go up to the office when they were hurt.”
What strikes me about all of these examples is that they are simple actions that require little to no preparation. What do they require? A recognition of the world around you, an ability to empathize with other people, and a willingness to take a risk and reach beyond yourself to offer a hand to someone in need.
Yesterday I wrote entry #60 in my kindness journal. As I shared on the first day of school, I am keeping this journal this year in an effort to pay more attention to the acts of kindness that take place every day around me. I have found that this daily ritual has heightened my awareness of the generosity of others and has also increased my sense of gratitude and wonder both personally and professionally. Reviewing entries, I am struck by the extraordinary number of people who have reached beyond themselves to make a difference in someone’s life. It inspires me, often humbles me and challenges me to be more aware of how my own actions – whether big or small – can make a difference.
We are building community at Hillbrook, one square at a time. What would you place on your square?
Mark Silver
Head of School
Take a peek at this sweet video which captures the spirit of the project, compiled by School Lbrarian and Instructional Technology Coach, Kelly Scholten.