Middle school students deliver notes for kindness initiative
Submitted photo
From left, are Dakota Dennison, Cameron Evans, Ava Glaser and Alivia Schaner who are some of the students who are part of the kindness committee.
An example of the types of notes students would use to write their kind words
Kindness is an essential skill taught at the Canon-McMillan School District. One way it’s shown is through the kindness initiative at Canonsburg Middle School. The initiative started at the beginning of last year when Dr. Taranto and Mr. Schrag asked teachers what they can do at Canonsburg Middle School to help promote kindness and acceptance during a time when society seems to be so divided. Several teachers came up with various ideas. Chris Nairn’s plan was for students to have an opportunity to send out random acts of kindness notes to friends, teachers, staff members, or anybody in the school they feel needs kind words. Each day members of the Kindness Committee collect notes from each other. They drop them off for Mr. Nairn at the middle school to review, and then the next day, the members deliver the approved messages.
Members of the committee also pass out random Snack Shack Vouchers to unsuspecting students. They choose a random locker and attach the voucher. This allows the students one free snack from the Snack Shack during their lunch period. Mr. Manion and the student council have graciously agreed to pick up the bill for this part of the initiative. Mr. Nairn hopes that the kindness that starts at Canonsburg Middle School will ultimately positively impact the entire community.
“In a time when the world seems so divided and at odds with each other, it is important to remember and model the idea that a little bit of kindness can have a large positive impact on the community as a whole.”