Student voice and next steps in Kindness Umbrella school-wide initiatives

As a school we are now in our third year of having worked on kindness initiatives.  This year we have been able to do a lot more in terms of involving our student leaders in modelling kindness other students at our school. 

Student leaders have met weekly to plan Community outreach initiatives.  The Social Responsibility and kindness committee was also able to have students voice their thoughts during our monthly meetings.  Having students plan for kindness events and share their voice on how this is going and the impact it is having was integral in helping us move forward in our planning.

The student leaders have shared with us that kindness matters. Being kind helps students feel a sense of belonging and helps them learn. They also shared with us that they miss leading younger students in family teams as this was a very positive experience when they were younger.  They wanted a chance to teach others about kindness in smaller multi-age settings. 

On the other hand, they have also shared that they would like to connect with secondary students about their experiences and how being kind has made a difference in their schooling. 

As a result, we decided to organize Diefenbaker Family Teams with a monthly focus on kindness to others (Pink Shirt day on February 22^nd), kindness to place (Earth Day on April 22^nd) and kindness to self (May).

We were also able to connect with McMath Secondary Leadership class to come to our school in the spring for Leadership Mornings. Secondary students would mentor our Grade 6/7 students in small yet courageous actions of kindness that would have powerful impact on everyone at our school.