It looks like the impact of C.R. Weeks Elementary School’s Day of Kindness will last far beyond 24 hours.
The day began with a kindness kickoff assembly where students played a kindness game and recognized classmates who exhibited kind behaviors.
5th grader Landry Salt then announced his “Salt of the Earth” program, a permanent hygiene-product drive to help students in need.
“A friend of mine last year really needed a toothbrush. I felt like I should help, so I brought him a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss,” said Salt.
“Salt of the Earth” is in many ways modeled after Knight Pack, the food collection program that provides packs of food to Windsor students in need to take home on weekends and vacations. There will be a bin at Weeks where people can drop off deodorant, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other hygiene items.
“Last year a classmate of his said something about not having a toothbrush, so he went home and cleaned out his closet. He really thought of this on his own,” said school counselor Liz Sharkan.
Weeks Student Council will help administrate the program and handle donated items and money. The drive will continue at Weeks after Salt leaves the school this year. He plans on spreading it throughout the district.
“I’ll probably make the same speech at the Middle School next year,” said Salt.
For the Day of Kindness, students also rotated through their choice of stations. They wrote thank you notes to veterans and police officers, decorated snap bracelets for a classmate, made crafts for residents at a local nursing home, and engaged in anti-bullying activities. Other stations focused on appreciation and physical well-being.
“I think it’s awesome,” said 5th grader Andrew Bennett. “People that are kind of mean sometimes because they don’t know how to be kind can learn that people care about them and how to be kind.”
“We wanted to recognize kindness, but there are so many populations we want to do kind things for: veterans, the elderly, classmates. It kind of snowballed,” said Mrs. Sharkan. “We figured we’d have a really fun day to get the message out.”
During lunch periods, younger students sat at every other seat while older students filled in the others. Kindergarten students ate with 3rd graders, 1st graders ate with 4th graders, and 2nd graders ate with 5th graders.
“We had kindness missions this week and we emphasized how good we can feel when others feel good,” said Mrs. Sharkan.