Kindness Challenge spreads peace

As The Great Kindness Challenge week neared its end, CPS students gathered on the playground in the shape of a peace sign to symbolize their commitment to kindness.

The Great Kindness Challenge

... and "How primary school students showed high shool'ers that kindness is the new cool"

Rarely do the acts of primary school students inspire high school’ers, but that’s exactly what happened when Central Primary School’s students decided to don ties as an act of kindness. Arkadelphia High School took notice of the movement, and created their own “Kindness ties us together” event during which, much like CPS’s, all AHS students and staff were asked to wear a tie in the name of kindness.

CPS second and third graders participated in the national Great Kindness Challenge during the week of January 27-31. The purpose of the week’s special activities was to promote kind acts towards others, and to promote and reinforce positive, community-building behaviors.

" ... the Kindness Week differs by directing attention towards positive actions instead of focusing on negative ones, and the results are proving that it is more effective. Instead of repeatedly demonstrating negative, hurtful actions and saying ‘Don’t do this,’ we model and encourage kindness.”

-Charlotte DeWitt, CPS counselor 

“Bully-free campaigns in public schools are nothing new,” Charlotte DeWitt, CPS counselor, said, “but the Kindness Week differs by directing attention towards positive actions instead of focusing on negative ones, and the results are proving that it is more effective. Instead of repeatedly demonstrating negative, hurtful actions and saying ‘Don’t do this,’ we model and encourage kindness.”

Led by the students of CPS’s Early Act Citizenship Council, a full week of activities was planned. These included “crazy for kindness day” during which students dressed in unusual outfits and styled their hair in bizarre ways. On “peace, love and kindness day,” students dressed like hippies. “Kindness ties us together day” involved every student and staff member being provided with a tie to wear for the day. Find more coverage here, here and here about this unique day of CPS's Great Kindness Challenge week, and how it directly impacted one local family. The week concluded with the “spirit of kindness day” where students and staff wore their Badger blue shirts.

Throughout the week, students attempted to complete a checklist of 50 suggested acts of kindness including complimenting each other, picking up trash, writing thank you notes, reading books to younger students, and writing kind notes to other students and staff members.

“They performed as many as possible at school, but we also encouraged them to carry on with this at home and throughout the community,” DeWitt said.

Teachers and students decorated classrooms and doors with kindness themes and, under the direction of CPS music teacher Pamela Harris, also learned a theme song for the week titled “Kind-hearted Hands.” The student body performed the song at The Great Kindness Challenge kick-off assembly during the school-wide morning show. Teachers asked students to write essays about kindness during class and selected essays were read during the morning show as well.

“We always have different messages for the students during the morning show,” DeWitt said. “But this week the students created those messages with their essays.”

A kindness chain was constructed from paper, with each link containing a kind message from students, which were tied together and hung in the hallways. The completed chain extended throughout the building.

CPS is also a “Bucket Filler” campus, meaning that students and staff are always encouraged to do kind things in order to “fill someone’s bucket.” Students write down kind acts they receive and share them with the school.


APS News Service
sean.ruggles@arkadelphiaschools.org



For more information regarding The Great Kindness Challenge week or news coverage about CPS’s participation, follow these links:

www.greatkindnesschallenge.org

www.kidsforpeaceglobal.org

Daily Siftings Herald, “Kindness Ties Us Together” - http://goo.gl/k1sPla

Daily Siftings Herald, “All Tied Up” - http://goo.gl/lYBiUf

KARK 4 News story - http://goo.gl/mF2Ba6

CONE Foundation - 17 years of philanthropy

The 2013 CONE grant recipients, pictured above with the senior CONE Foundation members, include Group Living, Inc., Lighthouse Ministry, Clark County Humane Society, Pregnancy Resource Center of Southwest Arkansas, Boys and Girls Club of Clark County, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Clark County, Arkadelphia Junior Auxiliary, DeGray Rural Fire Department, Lions Club of Arkadelphia, Pleasant Hill AME Church, Perritt Primary School (YAC Grant Recipient), Central Primary School, Peake Elementary School, Goza Middle School, Project Prom, AHS JROTC, APS Athletic Department, and the Badger Scholar program.

Ross Foundation dedicated to community development, nurturing future leaders

For the 17th consecutive year, students from Arkadelphia High School awarded local, non-profit organizations with grant funding through the philanthropic effort of the CONE Foundation. In 2013, $10,285 of grants were awarded because of the Ross Foundation’s continued support and dedication to bettering the local community, and simultaneously teaching the next generation of community leaders about philanthropy by allowing AHS students in the gifted and talented program to manage the process. Students evaluated grant applications that totaled $26,098 of requested funds and were able to match their available funds to what they deemed as the most worthy and needy causes.

The Ross Foundation matches money raised by the CONE Foundation students 9-to-1, and students raised $1,000 by “CONE’ing” the yards of local businesses and residents. The unique fundraiser worked by inviting community members to donate to the CONE Foundation in order for someone else in the community to have their yard “coned.” The students then scattered an abundance of large, orange, construction cones in that yard with instructions for how to contact a CONE Foundation member to have the cones removed. Upon the students’ return, they asked for a donation from the yard owner, who then sent them on to “cone” another home or business. After their portion of the funds are raised, and the grant applications are reviewed, students determine how to divide the funds and then organize and host an awards banquet to recognize the grant recipients. In the first months of the following year, students conduct site visits to observe how the funds are utilized.

Knit Unto Others on Main St. in Arkadelphia, shown here after being "CONE'd" as part of the student-led fundraiser, was one of many local businesses and residences which supported the grants by donating to the foundation. 

An AHS staff member's vehicle was also targeted by CONE members during the "CONE'ings."

"You got 'CONE'd'!" Instructions for contacting a CONE Foundation member for cone removal as well as a few small tokens of appreciation were attached to one of the cones, which were left on the property of those who were "CONE'd."

Overseeing the CONE Foundation members and AHS gifted and talented program is Kimberly Davis, who said the students involved in the work learn valuable lessons in making challenging financial decisions.

“Ultimately, the students come away with rewarding experience in fundraising, decision making, and grant coordinating while also bettering the local community through the grants awarded. Many, many thanks to the Ross Foundation for making this program possible.”

-Kimberly Davis, AHS GT Coordinator and CONE Foundation sponsor

“The students work hard to raise at least $1,000 during their junior year, which they exceeded last year,” Davis said. “Ultimately, the students come away with rewarding experience in fundraising, decision making, and grant coordinating while also bettering the local community through the grants awarded. Many, many thanks to the Ross Foundation for making this program possible.”

This year’s grant recipients were Group Living, Inc., Jane Lucas; Lighthouse Ministry, Joseph Burt; Clark County Humane Society, Nicole Matocha; Pregnancy Resource Center of Southwest Arkansas, Beverly Hankins; Boys and Girls Club of Clark County, Erik Edington; Court Appointed Special Advocates of Clark County, Carrie Goodman; Arkadelphia Junior Auxiliary, Nicole McGough; DeGray Rural Fire Department, James Tate; Lions Club of Arkadelphia, Mark Overturf; Pleasant Hill AME Church, Edna Ford; Perritt Primary School, Carrie Sharp (YAC Grant Recipient); Perritt Primary School, Elizabeth Morris; Central Primary School, Charlotte Dewitt; Peake Elementary School, Paula Whittle; Goza Middle School, Christy Smith; Goza Middle School, Angela Garner; Goza Middle School, Sarah Moss; Project Prom, Amy Hornsby; AHS JROTC, Michael Sheperd; AHS Athletics, Chris Babb; and Badger Scholar, David Maxwell.

The class of 2014 CONE Foundation members are Braden Archer, Kelsey Kobe, Kaylee Bridge, John Franklin Matros, John Buckner, Cole McAnally, Michelle Carter, Noah McMillion, Chris Clark, Devan Moses, Madeline Cook, Kolton Overturf, Jessica Cornelius, Taylor Parsons, Seth Daniell, Hunter Penfield, Julie Anne French, Jordan Philson, Peytyn Garrett, Cameron Ray, Kiara Gray, Callie Smith, Haley Harvell, Alexa Spinks, Carrie Herron, Spencer Tuggle, Emily Hilton, Austin White, Dalton Huerkamp, Rachel White, Jacob Knight, and Cameron Wilson.


APS News Service
sean.ruggles@arkadelphiaschools.org


For more information about the Ross Foundation and their involvement in community development, visit their website rossfoundation.us.