Middle school squad drives initiative to show kindness
Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. Studies show that creating an environment of kindness in schools can enhance relationships between peers and teachers.
Leading the kindness initiative at Northridge, the middle school kindness squad includes Ms. Burgan, Ms. Coleman, Ms. Allen and Mrs. Bennett.
This year the kindness squad has engaged in many activities such as placing positive affirmations on student lockers, providing students with kindness statements and decorating the hallways with inspirational kindness poster messages.
To them, spreading kindness is more than simply being against bullying, rather more about promoting the types of behaviors they want students to demonstrate. In an effort to achieve this, the kindness squad has begun using restorative justice to restore relationships between bickering students.
The team hopes that using restorative justice can clear up potential misunderstandings from arguments by providing students with more effective communication skills.
Since these initiatives have been implemented, the team has noticed some changes in student behaviors. The kindness squad would like to expand its kindness initiative to include more students.