Acts of Kindness and an Attitude of Gratitude
SGS Students Step Up
As the fifth and sixth grade students in Mrs. Novotney’s Health classes entered the last six weeks of school, the topics that anchor the curriculum are those of Acts of Kindness and developing and Attitude of Gratitude. These topics have been shown to help one develop higher self-esteem and a more positive attitude. *
Developing a higher self esteem and positive attitude, is a core goal of the SGS Health Curriculum.(HLC-Healthy Living Choices, Unit Two: Self-Image and Self-Esteem ) Fifth and sixth grade students begin the fall with discussions and hands-on opportunities to understand these two topics. Throughout the year many opportunities are offered to develop these health related areas. Students remarked that when one shows gratitude it can have a positive effect on both the presenter and receiver.
One fifth grade student summarized this concept very clearly in her reflection statement after an Act of Kindness activity. When asked to reflect on how the Gratitude and Act of Kindness affected her, Abby Churchill responded, “I learned that 1) It’s not about me 2) I need to ask for less stuff and 3) I need to be kinder.”
Some examples of projects the students have participated in this year are listed below.
-September 11 donations for care packages for military persons serving from our
immediate area. Later letters were written and care packages sent to SGS
graduates currently serving.
-Panama City Jinx Middle School
-Seneca Food Pantry
-PADS (homeless shelter) Sock Drive
-Message of Hope for Karl Soliman’s Family
-Poppy Remembrance/Gratitude Project: Care items for Marseilles National Guard (Mrs..Kilday-Bolton assisted with the personal notes on the poppies)
-Gratitude Garden (link)
● * A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological
Association shows that grateful teens are also more likely to be happy,
hopeful and well-behaved at school. More gratitude may be precisely what
our society needs to raise a generation that is ready to make a difference in
the world," study researcher Giacomo Bono, PhD., a psychology professor
at California State University, said in a statement. (Huffington Post, 2012)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/gratitude-teens-happier_n_1749118.html
Click this link for additional information on the Gratitude Garden
