![\"Brookwood](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brookwood-Emily.jpg\")
<\/a>Examples of kindness are easy to find this week,\u00a0Jan. 25-29,\u00a0as many of the division\u2019s elementary schools celebrate the Great Kindness Challenge. The nonprofit organization Kids for Peace established the weeklong event in 2012 to challenge students across the U.S. to devote one week to performing as many acts of kindness as possible. The organization\u2019s website describes the initiative as \u201ca proactive and positive bullying prevention initiative that improves school climate and increases student engagement.\u201d<\/p>\nSchool counselors are leading the kindness initiative in their schools with creative themes and activities to celebrate and encourage kind deeds.<\/p>\n
At Malibu Elementary, it\u2019s\u00a0\u201cCool to be Kind,\u201d and the whole family is involved.\u00a0Parents received letters to help students create paper \u201ckindness snowballs\u201d on which they write the acts of kindness they have done throughout the week. Students added their snowballs to the school\u2019s winter wonderland display featuring a Malibu surfer snowman.\u00a0Giving hugs, holding the door open for a friend and helping others when they are bullied were among the acts of kindness shared by students.<\/p>\n
Red Mill Elementary wants the entire community to celebrate kindness this week. The fence along Sandbridge Road displays red cups that spell a message the students and staff hope everyone will embrace \u2013 \u201cKindness!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s designed to really have everybody focused on it. We\u2019re all supposed to be kind all year long, but it\u2019s a conscious, intentional focus on what\u2019s going on that\u2019s good,\u201d said McMahon. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to find the wrong thing or the negative thing, but we have a lot of kind students and staff members, so it\u2019s just nice to all be on the same page with it.\u201d<\/p>\n McMahon, like many other school counselors, created or adapted a kindness challenge checklist so students can see examples of kind deeds and check them off as they complete them. Smile at your teacher today. Help a younger student. Say \u201cthank you\u201d to people that help you. Help a parent without being asked. Be kind to yourself and eat a healthy snack.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI encourage students to think about the simple things like saying \u2018good morning,\u2019 smiling and acknowledging people. Those things are easy, but it is the little things that make a big difference,\u201d said McMahon.<\/p>\n Lynnhaven students illustrated acts of kindness, and McMahon put together large kindness \u201cquilts\u201d displayed in the hallway. The artwork is also being shown on video announcements that scroll on television monitors throughout the school day.<\/p>\n \u201cI drew a picture of a student who sits with another student who was by herself,\u201d said third-grader Kali. \u201cI also say \u2018good morning\u2019 to my teacher every morning and smile at her.\u201d<\/p>\n Classmate Summer drew a picture of a student picking up a paper dropped by another student. Other quilt panels feature student kindness thoughts: helping someone, being nice to others, being respectful, brightening up someone\u2019s day<\/em> and standing up for someone<\/em>.<\/p>\n I helped my teacher put away work. I helped my mom do the dishes. I helped my sister with her homework. I cleaned up the kitchen with my sister. Listened to my teacher. I made a new friend. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cEven though you can\u2019t see each individual hand and what it says, you still know the purpose behind it,\u201d said Brookwood\u2019s school counselor Melanie Womble. \u201cA lot of people have been going by and saying how uplifting it\u2019s been to see it.\u00a0The kids are just so excited to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Pembroke Meadows Elementary students are showing kindness by creating homemade Valentine\u2019s Day cards for military veterans. Each card includes a personalized message to thank veterans for their service.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Laura McMahon, Lynnhaven Elementary school counselor, views the week as way to reinforce character lessons students learn throughout the year and to encourage everyone to be more mindful about being kind.<\/p>\n<\/a>Near the entrance of Brookwood Elementary School a kindness tree fills the wall. Its leaves are colorful handprints on which students and staff have written acts of kindness they have done.<\/p>\n