{"id":17359,"date":"2020-03-13T16:40:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T20:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.successacademies.org\/?post_type=education_blog&p=17359"},"modified":"2023-04-27T18:02:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T18:02:02","slug":"kind-is-the-new-cool-sa-harlem-easts-1000-acts-of-kindness-challenge","status":"publish","type":"education_blog","link":"https:\/\/www.successacademies.org\/education-blog\/kind-is-the-new-cool-sa-harlem-easts-1000-acts-of-kindness-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cKind is the New Cool\u201d \u2014 SA Harlem East\u2019s 1,000 Acts of Kindness Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

SA Harlem East is an exceptionally kind community \u2014 for our scholars, being kind is the default. They hold doors, say thank you, pick up litter, help each other with their homework, and bring assignments to friends who are out sick without even registering that these are acts of kindness. This fall, when my Senior Leader Ms. McNamara challenged us to come up with a school community-building campaign, I saw it as an opportunity to highlight one of SA Harlem East\u2019s greatest strengths: our kindness. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s human nature to focus on the negative: What\u2019s going wrong? Where am I falling short? It was important to me that our campaign brought attention to and celebrated the positive: the goodness in the people we spend each day with. With that in mind, we launched the 1,000 Acts of Kindness Challenge, which encouraged scholars and staff to document acts of kindness and submit them to a \u201cballot box\u201d with the goal of reaching 1,000 acts schoolwide in a month. We knew we\u2019d have strong results because the foundation was already there, but we didn\u2019t anticipate how quickly we\u2019d surpass our goal \u2014 we reached 1,075 submissions within two weeks \u2014 or by how much \u2014 ultimately, our community recorded 1,778 acts of kindness. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Challenge transformed SA Harlem East MS in two important, interconnected ways: by encouraging us to recognize and appreciate the kindness of our community members and by energizing us to be even kinder ourselves. <\/span>My favorite part of the Challenge was seeing the lengths to which our scholars, staff, and teachers went to lift each other\u2019s spirits every day. <\/span>Scholars were immediately invested, coming into school early to report friends\u2019 and teachers\u2019 acts of kindness.<\/span> The feeling that we were working toward a common objective \u2014 we were determined to reach that goal of 1,000 acts \u2014 was electrifying. I saw scholars strengthen old friendships and forge new ones \u2014 relationships that persist to this day! A few scholars remarked that \u201ckind is the new cool.\u201d I couldn\u2019t agree more. <\/span><\/p>\n

I asked some members of the Harlem East community to tell me about their favorite Acts of Kindness from the Challenge. Their reflections are below.<\/p>\n

\"kindness1\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the challenge, I noticed my student Layla Davis emulating some of the acts of kindness I take pride in modeling \u2014 saying good morning, holding the door open for others,  picking up trash on the floor. I felt so proud to see her replicate these gestures because I knew she genuinely wanted to do her best to be a kind person \u2014 something I want all of my students to be.\u201d <\/span> \u2014Carlos Alvarez<\/b>, <\/span>Sixth Grade STEM Teacher, Math Lead <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, a scholar came into the Main Office with her nose bleeding. In the past, she had been brought in by an adult or come in alone, but this time, she was escorted by sixth-grader DeAnni Ruiz. DeAnni provided support, making sure her friend had enough tissues and telling her, \u2018You can get through this, and I’m here if you need anything.\u2019 It was heartwarming to know that scholars have each other’s backs, no matter what.\u201d  <\/span>\u2014Jasmaine Quashie, Community Relations Coordinator<\/b><\/p>\n

\"image1\"<\/p>\n

\u201cA memorable moment for me was when we reached 1,075 Acts of Kindness \u2014 more than we\u2019d planned for the month-long Challenge \u2014 in just the second week of the campaign. I was touched by how generous and considerate our school community was. Seeing everyone take a moment from their busy days to shout out all the good they saw in SA Harlem East filled me with joy.\u201d<\/span> \u2014Bridget McNamara, Senior Leader<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cSegnonble Yoanson, an eighth-grade scholar, went above and beyond to help his friend Joey, who was injured in the stairwell. Segnonble brought his friend to the nurse and stayed with him until he received care. I was proud that he took the initiative to take care of his friend. Later that same week, he was recognized for performing the Kind Act of the Week.\u201d <\/span>\u2014Drew Kingman, Eighth Grade STEM Teacher, Math Lead <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the Challenge, the small, unseen kind deeds our scholars and faculty perform every day were acknowledged and celebrated. I was touched when fifth-grader Bryce Thompson wrote me a note thanking me for saying \u2018good morning\u2019 to him every day \u2014 an inconsequential act on my part that I learned meant a lot to him and even made his day.<\/span>\u201d <\/b>\u2014Sophia Fredo<\/b>, <\/span>5th Grade Humanities Teacher, History Lead<\/b><\/p>\n

On a schoolwide level, the Challenge rallied us around the idea that you can never be too kind. You can always lend a helping hand. You can make someone\u2019s day by checking in to see how they\u2019re doing or just by giving them a smile. Our scholars are shouting out each other\u2019s acts of kindness to this day, and they\u2019re not doing it because they\u2019re trying to reach a numerical goal. It comes from the heart. <\/span><\/p>\n

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