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Promoting kindness in Clintonville

First graders win Rexford/Longfellow challenge

By Bert Lehman


In an effort to promote kindness, Rexford/Longfellow Elementary School in Clintonville held a challenge to see which class could perform the most random acts of kindness during February.

Students in kindergarten through fourth grade participated in the challenge.

Each time a student performed a random act of kindness they were allowed to write on a sheet of paper what the act of kindness. It was then added as a link to the acts of kindness chain for their class.

Jennifer Bachman, school counselor at Rexford/Longfellow Elementary School, said some of the acts of kindness included helping other students and helping a teacher. Random acts of kindness also included students helping their family, their pets, and others in the community.

“Whenever the kids did something nice they could record it and take it to the office to have it put onto the chain,” Bachman said.

To create excitement for the month-long challenge, the acts of kindness chains for each class were hung from the ceiling in the hallway. This allowed students to see where their class ranked throughout the month compared to the other classes.

“We wanted this to go on for a whole month because there is research out there that says once you do something so many times it creates a habit,” Bachman said. “We wanted kindness to be a habit they develop and continue.”

The first grade class won the challenge, with its students performing 457 random acts of kindness. First grade students were recognized at an all school assembly the morning of Monday, Feb. 29.

Kindergarten students performed 313 random acts of kindness, followed by third grade with 247, fourth grade with 236, and second grade with 212. All the grades performed a total of 1,465 random acts of kindness during February.

“Overall I think it was a success,” Bachman said.

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