by Sarah Zbornik, Student Centered Instructional Coach and Carrie Lee Elementary Music Teacher Last week, walking down the hall of the 8th grade wing, I noticed a wall of sticky notes in the restroom. The colorful display peaked my interest. I found myself smiling ear to ear: each of the sticky notes had a kind phrase or was empty for more to be written. Inspired, I wrote my own note. Then my curiosity wanted to know how this started. Mr. Stock pointed me in the direction of an 8th grade student. When I asked her about it, she said, “When I’m having a bad day and I just want to hide from class, I can just read the notes and it helps.” She then explained how it started. Another student had forgotten her sticky notes and pencil on the shelf in the bathroom. When she went back to retrieve them, she noticed that someone had taken a note, written a kind phrase, and posted it on the wall. She decided to leave the sticky notes to see if it would spread. Her instincts were correct. Not only did it overtake the 8th grade bathroom wall, but it has now spread into the 7th grade bathroom. Where else might this kindness spread?
14 Comments
Jennifer Larson
10/28/2019 07:41:38 am
Thanks for sharing. I was not aware of this since I don't make it away from 1st floor very often. What a great thing at DMS. Imagine the possibilities from one simple act of kindness.
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Brigit Storhoff
10/28/2019 07:59:03 am
I've been really inspired by this, and I stop in the bathroom often just to read them. I've been so impressed by the messages the girls are sharing with one another. And it's student driven.....so proud!!
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Shannon K Horton
10/28/2019 11:29:52 am
I hand no idea this was happening so thank you for sharing! I need to start using that bathroom. :)
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Tyler Wedemeier
10/28/2019 11:49:59 am
A great reminder of the awesome students we get to teach and interact with on a daily basis. Sometimes we need to get out of their way and let them shine.
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Sarah
10/28/2019 12:50:09 pm
Absolutely LOVE this! Thanks for noticing and sharing!
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Zach
10/28/2019 01:19:19 pm
Sounds about right for this 8th grade class. Lots of leaders and inspiring young people in that bunch.
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Shanna
10/31/2019 06:38:24 am
This is so fantastic. Thank you for sharing. We have such AMAZING students (and a lot of that has to do with AMAZING TEACHERS)!
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Jennifer DeLaRosa
11/2/2019 07:18:37 am
I totally want to read one. LOVE THIS. And I love most of all, that a student started this.
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Robin
3/26/2020 02:32:43 pm
Truly amazing a simple act of kindness can spread. Never be afraid to spread your kindness. Sometimes you may never see or know that result of it but you can feel it. Knowing you did your part to make someone smile in this very hard challenging world.
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Brooke
3/28/2020 09:41:50 am
Thanks for sharing and how wonderful this was started by a student! If I remember correctly, MS is tough and you never know when a positive note can can change your day or how far kind words go.
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Paul
4/27/2020 10:33:49 pm
These are the stories I miss about DMS and our school district during this time away.
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Shannon Tieskoetter
5/8/2020 07:16:32 am
Thank you for sharing this. It is amazing to see how students can empower each other. What a simple way to make a big difference.
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Anne
5/18/2020 07:42:34 am
Thank you for sharing this! Inspiring! This would be fantastic writing practice for the elementary students, and a great way to spread kindness! I love the take aways from these posts!
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Stephanie Radloff
5/27/2020 06:31:12 am
As I'm going back through looking at blogs that I missed reading throughout the year and read through yours...I had no idea that this was started by a student and I work in the middle school. I had loved this concept from the start and even wrote a note myself and put it on the wall. There were days that reading the notes uplifted my spirits as well for the day. We have some great students!
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