To get a head start in celebrating Random Act of Kindness Week, some students and staff of Oakwood Elementary in Elyria presented their acts of kindness to Elyria School Board members.
Students kicked off the board meeting Feb. 7 at Oakwood Elementary, 925 Spruce St., by giving gifts to board members and thanked them for what they do for the school system.
Principal Joy Jones said Random Act of Kindness Week is celebrated Feb. 11-17, but showing kindness with one another has been a motto for the school all year.
The school follows the Positive Behavior Intervention System to practice positivity between students and use the method to influence their everyday lives, Jones said.
“To always guide the students toward positive behaviors,” is what the staff at Oakwood are trying to achieve, she said. “What you want to see of them, you have to state it in a positive way, too.”
Jones said this is the school’s first year of an initiative such as this one.
Oakwood staff also recognized students for their positivity and continuous acts of kindness they portray in school.
Layla Carter, a fifth-grader, was awarded for her contributions in a group called Little Helping Hands.
Jones said Layla initiated the group with fellow classmates to help raise money and buy gifts for other students who may not get the things they want or need during the holidays.
A staff member of Oakwood said Layla and other classmates received and raised enough money to buy gifts for 15 students in her school.
Layla’s mother, Megan Cutright, and other parents also were awarded for being great role models to their children and for their contributions to the school.
To show further acts of kindness, Oakwood school and board members donated books to McKinley Elementary in memory of custodian Dan Writh, who recently died.
Jones said the donation is called Book it Forward.
At Oakwood, Jones said she is seeing kindness and positivity grow with her students.
The school’s student council and other students are very passionate about positivity and paying it forward, she said.
The school has practiced its acts of kindness and positivity by participating in school events such as canned food drives for the local Salvation Army, Jones said.
A way to practice positivity at Oakwood is giving students a positive model to follow, she said.
For example, taking away signs throughout the school that say “do not run in hallways” and replacing them with one that says “walk in hallways,” can help, Jones said.
Providing students with positive terms is a step of encouragement students will follow, she said.
These changes can encourage them to pay it forward, Jones said.
“We are excited about how the children are teaching each other how to love and be compassionate,” she said.
The acronym, LOL, or laugh out loud, is one that most people in the world use, Jones said.
However, at Oakwood, students and staff use the acronym to express love out loud, she said.
Oakwood’s staff and students shared their initiative during the meeting.
“We all worked together and thought this would be a great time to show them how wonderful Oakwood is and thank them for making this all possible,” Jones said.
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