Great Kindness Challenge(January 26 – 29, 2016) Inspired by the PEACEMAKERS, a student group at Phillips Avenue and Roanoke Avenue schools under the guidance of CAP social worker Shannon Kuttner, the District’s elementary schools once again participated in the week-long "Great Kindness Challenge" (GKC). Each of the four schools hosted a number of events throughout the designated GKC week from January 25-29. The kick-off event in each of the K-4 schools was a reading and presentation by Long Island author Lisa Krekeler, who wrote Emily and the Kindness Bracelet. This story is about a little girl who receives a Kindness Bracelet from her mom before she leaves for school. However, her mom tells her, "You must give the bracelet away to another person when you see that person perform an act of kindness and tell that person to do the same. " The story follows the journey of the bracelet. (See Artsy.)
Reflecting her experience as a pre-school teacher, Mrs. Krekeler's books are designed to inspire kindness through positive interactions at school and at home. As a jewelry designer, Mrs. Krekeler also makes kindness bracelets inspired by the book. GKC activities continued throughout the week. |
Great Kindness Challenge from Sandra Kolbo on Vimeo. Note from CAP social worker Shannon Kuttner, "This year all four elementary schools and the middle school have confirmed participation in the GKC. The District's schools are also participating in the Kind Coins for Kenya campaign, a global service project to help build a new school in a Kenyan village. The goal of the Great Kindness Challenge, a national organization, is to build a fully equipped six room school for approximately 200 students, ages 4-8 years old."
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Great Kindness Challenge Gallery
OVERVIEW OF THE WEEK -- PROVIDED BY CAP SOCIAL WORKER SHANNON KUTTNER:
The Peacemakers, a student offshoot of the Riverhead Community Awareness Program (CAP) , encouraged all the students and staff in the Riverhead Central School District to participate in the Great Kindness Challenge so that the District can, once again, become a "Kindness Certified School District" and mostly because Kindness Matters! Thanks to Riverhead CAP, every class in every Riverhead Elementary School participated in a Kindness Bracelet exchange during the week in their classes. The idea was based on the book, Emily and the Kindness Bracelet, that was read in each elementary school to kick off the Great Kindness Challenge (GKC), a week-long event from January 25-29. Listed below are some of the ways teachers worked the concepts of the Great Kindness Challenge into their classroom curriculum: Mr. Richardson - 4th Grade at Roanoke One of my students came up with an idea for the kindness challenge….She noticed how excited her younger cousin gets when she tells her she is doing a good job with her homework. She suggested we give complements to younger students during their Reading/Writing Workshop time. At Phillips and Roanoke, Riverhead CAP supplied craft supplies for the students to use to make kind notes and bookmarks for students and staff in the school at recess. Every loves getting a kind note! Mrs. Jaeger 1st at Roanoke I created a template for a card so that my students could make cards for other friends in our the class over the course of the week. Mrs. Tuohy Grade 2 at Roanoke My class created cards of inspiration to send to Michael Hubbard. Ms. Dillon Grade 2 at Roanoke My class is recycling their bottles and sending the money collected to the Great Kindness Challenge to help build a school in Kenya. Mrs. Panos ESL at Roanoke We will be reading a text related to kindness. The theme of the text is to be kind. It is called the Each Kindness. We will be using it to discuss character traits and theme over the next two days during my first two groups. I love the story and how it ties nicely into the lessons of this week. The Roanoke Avenue PTO / The Burns Family The Burns family made beautiful bracelets for each student in the school as a reminder of their Kindness and their contribution to Kind Coins for Kenya. Mrs. Greenberg, the director of the Phillips 4th Grade Chorus and the RMS Show Choir The fourth grade chorus and entire student body of Phillips learned a song called, “Kindness Counts”. They performed the song at the Kindness Kickoff. The MIddle School Show Choir, under the direction of Mrs. Greenberg, learned a song titled, “The Power of One”. They performed the song at a meeting of the GSA and will also perform it at the RCSD Black History Celebration. |
Aquebogue's Wall of WishesAll the Elementary schools also participated in "Kind Coins for Kenya". This is a GKC global service project to help build a school in Kenyan village. To visualize their progress, each RCSD school created a school out of paper bricks with good wishes for the students in Kenya. (Thank you Cynthia Redmond, CAP Prevention Worker and PTO Mom from Aquebogue, for the idea.)
(January 26 – 29, 2016) As part of the GREAT KINDNESS CHALLENGE, RCSD elementary students participated in a fund-raiser called “Coins for Kenya”, which was a national effort to help build a school Kenya. The students from our elementary schools and middle school raised $4,635.33!!! Jena Binkis, a 4th grader from Aquebogue Elementary School, was so motivated she initiated her own fundraiser at her church, Living Water Church in Aquebogue. Jena made signs and decorated a collection jar with the hope that she would raise $50. Jena raised $885.00 by herself.
In addition to the funds raised by this campaign, the students wrote their "wishes" for the students of Mikei on paper bricks that they decorated and hung up in their individual schools, creating a "Wall of Wishes." Wishes included, "I hope you like your new school," "Broken Crayons Still Color," All Kids Deserve an Education," and "I Hope your Teachers are as Nice as Ours." |