Today I celebrate love and how it begins with a smile.
Yesterday, our second grade team led an amazing school-wide
assembly focused on caring. It was initiated by a wonderful friend of mine who
is the epitome of a teacher who embodies character education in everything she
teaches.
The students began the assembly by singing along to a song
from Sia. One-by-one, students began a flash mob style dance led by our school
mascot, Leo the Lion. Leo brought each second grade class up one at a time. The
students then passed our flowers to each staff member and before long you see
people swaying, singing, and smiling.
The message is simple: You are never fully dressed without a smile.
How simple, yet powerful that message is.
Here’s the video that inspired the second grade team.
I just had to share this today on the Celebrate Link-up because I found it to be so heart-warming. I carried a smile all day thinking of this song, the assembly, and the way our staff reacted.
You see, our school district community just passed a vote on Tuesday to reconfigure our schools to accommodate full day K. While happy about full day K, this will mean big changes. Our school will no longer be a K-5 school in 2017. So, I'm taking moments like this in. Pausing. Reflecting. Enjoying. I know in just a couple of short years, our Sherman family will no longer look like this or be comprised of the staff members I've worked with for 14 years.
So here's to a brand new Celebration Saturday--a special one in fact. Valentine's Day is the perfect day to watch this video, soak up this message, and share with all those you love. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
In fact, the smile hasn't left. As grown ups, I think watching this video reminds us that we don't just have to teach our students how to bring joy to others, but we should be modeling it everyday just like we saw on the streets of NYC. You can even bring The Great Kindness Challenge to your school. Here's a sheet to distribute.
Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it is JOYful :)
Smile
Oh Marcie, I haven't seen this before - SMILING... because it's so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness!!!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that video!!! It made me laugh and cry...so much kindness!!! Thank you for sharing. I love the idea of a school wide assembly on kindness! You can be sure I'll be checking out The Great Kindness Challenge AND sharing the video. It sounds like you work in an amazing school! I believe no matter what changes may be coming...it's about the spirit of the school...and your school certainly has that!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. And yes, the smile completes . . . everything!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the video! I haven't seen it before. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all about the happiness your team brought to your building. I have not seen the video before-so thanks for sharing it! I think this is a great way to end the random acts of kindness week!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this- I will definitely share it with my third graders.
ReplyDeleteThat. was. awesome. Thank you so much for sharing this and putting a big smile on my face!
ReplyDeleteGreat video and great attitude - bring joy to students each day.
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