HKIS TODAY
STUDENT LIFE
Upper Primary
Kindness Week
by Kevin Fields, UP Counselor
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
-Jane Goodall
During February 22-26, Upper Primary students made a point to celebrate and grow kindness in our community. They were greeted every morning with a human tunnel of encouragement from teachers and their peers that grew and grew as more people arrived. Even Torch (HKIS’s dragon mascot) made an appearance one morning! At recess they were able to paint Kindness Rocks that were scattered and left throughout the playground for others to find and be uplifted. They created kindness wood prints to give as gifts, friendship bracelets to connect with buddies, and spun the Wheel of Compassion for ideas about random acts of kindness they could enact that day.
In the classroom, teachers led conversations around what compassion means, where we can find it in our world (even in troubled times), and how to contribute to it. Classes completed whole class challenges through Kindness Bingo and heard quotes about compassion from their Student Council representatives each morning. Although these activities only lasted for a week, we hope these conversations and actions persist and echo throughout our school and larger community. Kindness is contagious, and each person, no matter their age, can play a part in making our world a better place.