Kindness Connection: 2017 - 2018

During the 2017 - 2018 school year, Houghton Elementary School celebrated Kindness Connection Week beginning on Monday, January 22nd and ending on Friday, January 26th with Kindness Connection Day on Wednesday, January 24, 2018. In order to kick off this theme of kindness, community readers read the book, I'm Like You, You're Like Me by Cindy Gainer, to kindergarten, first, and second grade students and the book, Kindness Counts by Bryan Smith, to third and fourth grade students on November 8, 2017. Community readers included local business owners, Wachusett Regional School District's Central Office staff, and other important members of Houghton Elementary School's community.

This year, our Kindness Connection theme focused on respecting and honoring differences. In order to highlight this theme, teachers read a different book to their classes followed by discussing its lesson each day of Kindness Connection Week. For grades K, 1, and 2, teachers read the following five books: The Family Book by Todd Parr, Shades of People by Shelley Rotner and Sheila Kelly, Best Friend on Wheels by Debra Shirley, Rainbow of Friends by P.K. Hallinan, and The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma, and David Dean. For grades 3 and 4, the following five books were read to children: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, One Green Apple by Eve Bunting, First Day Speech by Isabelle Hadala, Rainbow of Friends by P.K. Hallinan, The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma, and David Dean.

At the start of Kindness Connection week, one class was tasked with the job of starting a "Kindness Snowballs" activity. After each student in this class created a snowflake, they secretly "snowballed" another class by hanging these snowflakes on their door. The class that was "snowballed" then had the responsibility of "snowballing" another classroom by following the same steps. After only two weeks, our school was filled with snowflakes of kindness on every door! Pictures of a selection of these doors can be seen below:

On Kindness Connection Day, January 24, 2018, each class in the school created an extra set of snowflakes for businesses/organizations of their choice within the Sterling Community. Members of our community were excited to be "snowballed" with kindness toward the end of February. Some of the businesses that were "snowballed" can be seen below!

Conant Public Library

Sterling Fire Department

Sterling Recreation Department

Hope Chapel