There’s more than a bump in the road when it’s Bog Road
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — While the rest of their classmates enjoyed time off and trips, nine Rochester Middle School students spent part of the February vacation in their school, spreading kindness through the halls.
The sixth- and eighth-grade students posted two different supportive messages on all 900 RMS lockers as part of an ongoing “positivity project” aimed at increasing student empathy and reducing common middle school problems.
“It changes the stereotype,” said eighth-grader Emily Buinicky, 14. ”(It allows students) to see, ‘Wow, they’re really there for me, I have a place here and I’m OK.’”
The project was spearheaded by Buinicky, fellow eighth-graders Hannah Dorfman, Emily Finnegan and Hannah Vaughan, and sixth-graders Caiden Brand, Hannah Cope, Sydney Daly, Ava Gannon and Olivia Ostness.
The idea, outlined in instructions the group taped to the lockers, was for students to keep one of the quotes in a visible place for themselves.
The other quote was meant for the student to give away to anyone — in or outside of school — they believed would benefit from receiving it.
The quotes included colorful images and messages like “You only live once but if you do it right once is enough,” “Be the reason someone smiles today,” “Don’t let the things you want make you forget the things you have” and “Broken crayons still color.”
Vaughan said her favorite is one that tells a story about a person throwing a single starfish back in the ocean. The person is asked why they’d take the time to throw one starfish when there are others who need similar assistance.
“It just reminds me how one person can spread kindness,” said Vaughan, 14. “Even though you can’t touch everyone, you can help one person.”
Assistant Principal...