may community outreach
The coolest thing happened this month. Let’s call it a “random acts of kindness” writing event. What began as a simple yet thoughtful writing activity prompted a chain of responses that showed just how much our students care about kindness.
It all started with our 7th and 8th grade AVID students at Red Bank Middle School. After reading the poem “Small Kindnesses,” by Danusha Laméris, students wrote about a time when they experienced kindness or a time when they were kind to someone. Each student shared one of their lines, which we strung together into a collaborative poem.
We read this collaborative poem to our 5th and 6th grade “Write Your Heart Out” class, who wanted to write their own responses. Again, each student shared a line of theirs, which we arranged to create another collaborative poem.
The next day, we shared both poems with our 3rd graders in the after-school program in Long Branch. They wrote sentences about what kindness is, which they shared, and we collected. Three successive collaborative poems!
Kindness spread from one group to another through writing, connecting the programs! And we didn’t even realize when we started that Random Acts of Kindness Week was February 17 to 24!
We hope you enjoy their poems and you may even be inspired to write your own kindness poem.
Kindness
by 7th & 8th grade RBMS AVID students
Kindness is like a boomerang
Eventually it will come back
Kindness always comes to you
It’s the little things that matter
Being respectful to others
Letting someone go before me in line
Helping my younger brother during quarantine
Helping Victoria with homework
(Her smile was contagious)
Struggling with math goes throughout my head
My brother comes in and takes the time to help me out
I remember being grateful and happy the rest of the day
My day was better because I learned
I wanted to help someone in some way
Helping my friend get over some of his problems
Helping my grandma up and down the stairs
She smiled and walked away
(It enlarged my heart with love)
I’ve learned how to empathize with people just like her
My kindness spread to more people
Things happen for a reason
Love is contagious
Pass it on
Kindness
by 5th & 6th grade Write Your Heart Out students
Kindness is reaching out to help a friend who is struggling.
One act of kindness can spark a chain reaction of love.
Being kind is to compliment someone.
Tell someone they look nice today.
Kindness is helping someone pronounce a word.
And being sure not to make fun of them for saying it wrong.
Kindness is listening to people when they need an ear.
Kindness is a shoulder to lean on, a leg to stand on, and an arm to hold.
When you do something kind for others, kindness will come back to you.
Kindness can spread and keep going on forever and ever.
No matter who you are, if you are kind, others will be kind to you.
Happiness is kindness because no one is truly happy until they are kind.
Kindness Is …
by 3rd grade Long Branch after-school program students
Sharing your ice cream with a friend
Helping your mom bring in the groceries
Picking up garbage off the floor (even when you are not asked)
Showing respect to your teachers
Holding the door open for someone
Helping a friend with their homework
Sitting with someone who is alone
Showing someone how to ride a bike
Sharing your favorite snack with your brother or sister
Teaching a friend to play a new game
Sharing a favorite toy
Being nice to your cousins
Paying attention to your teacher
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