CJH spreads kindness during Random Acts of Kindness Week

C. J. Hooker Middle School students, teachers and staff recently came together to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Launched in 1995, Random Acts of Kindness Week is an annual opportunity to unite people around the world through kindness. This week-long celebration demonstrates that kindness is contagious.

The week kicked off with a kind surprise first thing as students arrived to school: their lockers had been decorated with positive messages and affirmations.

The kindness continued throughout the week as homeroom teachers treated their students to a daily surprise, such as morning treat or a “no homework pass” for the night.

Students performed a specific act of kindness for a peer and then wrote down a reflection on how it made them feel. Most students recorded that being helpful and kind made them feel “happy,” “great” and “accomplished.” The school was decorated with compliment posters that had compliments that students and faculty were able to tear off and hand out to their peers and colleagues, such as “You are a very caring person” or “You do great things for our students.” In addition, the administrators surprised middle school employees with breakfast in their honor.

All in all, it was a great “feel good” week that we hope to make a tradition here at the middle school,” said Lauren Levesque, school social worker. “It was a great lesson for the kids that ‘no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.'”