We believe in "catching" kids in the act of being genuinely kind.
These pictures were taken during the garden ribbon cutting ceremony at JT McWilliams Elementary School in Nevada on May 10, 2012. There was a contest for the name of the garden. The official name ”Blooming with Kindness” was chosen to keep the BE KIND program going. They want to grow a community of kindness.
Thank you, thank you thank you!Thank you seems so inadequate for all that you do for our children, your students, every day you take your spot at the front of your classroom. We are grateful for the teaching you do, and so much more. We appreciate you when you step in as a pseudo parent or nurse when needed. When you act as counselor or referee, our children benefit. You make this world a better place and the Josh Stevens Foundation has noticed.
Please, log on to our brand new website: JoshStevensFoundation.org for your special Teacher Appreciation Week offer in our web store just for you! And remember: YOU’VE BEEN CAUGHT BEING KIND!!! Please, pass it on.
Promotion Code: teacher2012
Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas, NV is one of the many schools who have embraced the Josh Stevens Foundation. Today, Principal Sherri Gahn was on the “Ellen” show. Students were shown wearing “Be Kind” t-shirts as they were shown their new library!
“Ellen has been working all season to help the kids of Whitney Elementary, and today they got a huge surprise — a new library! Thanks to the people of Target, the Whitney students will be studying in this beautiful new building. But that’s not all! They’ll also be able to get their reading done on a cool new Kindle Fire!”
One of the second graders wrote this amazing poem about kindness.
Liberty Bock
Arroyo Vista Charter Middle School
7th grade Math/Science/Robotics
Seeds of Kindness
Plant seeds of kindness,
To grow a kindness tree.
That will drop kindness flowers,
All over you and me.
One way to be kind,
Is to share with your friends.
Kindness is forever,
Kindness never ends.
Compliment others,
That’s what you do.
If you want to have a friend,
Be one too.
There are many ways to be kind,
Many ways, you see.
If we all work together,
We can plant a kindness tree.
Savannah L.
2nd grade
4/18/12
I wanted to share with you some pictures of a bulletin board done by one of my second grade classrooms. The students were very interested in your logo. So, their teacher created a project for them incorporating your logo and her lesson. They are "Mining for Kindness." Judy Pelto Counselor-Bruner Elementary
This student was awarded a “Be Kind” t-shirt; this event happened on the first day of school. Her teacher, Mr. Whitley was telling his class about himself. He has a couple of medical issues that he tells the kids about in case he is having trouble in the class. With that, he makes a math problem out of the cost of his medications. He finished by breaking it down to the cost of each pill that is $5.00 each. His class left as did he.
When he came back he saw a $5.00 bill on his desk with a sticky note that said “for a pill”. No name or anything. He was finally able to track her down, and she shyly admitted that she was the one who left it.
He, of course, is framing the $5.00 bill for his classroom wall.
Julia Bush, School Counselor
Burkholder Middle School
BIXBY, Oklahoma – Direct Link
It was a kind day to be in Bixby schools. Thousands of students in the district helped launch a new campaign to encourage random acts of kindness.
Drew Stevens, from Las Vegas, visited Bixby Schools Wednesday and talked about a foundation he started in honor of his son.
Josh Stevens Foundation
Josh Stevens was 12 years old when his life came to a tragic end.
“I was incredibly proud of Josh, he was an amazing boy. Whether he was raised that way or just that way, he was just an exemplary child,” Stevens said.
His dad says Josh always had a knack for being kind, especially to strangers, often holding the door at the mall open for strangers.
So Drew started the foundation in hopes that his son’s kindness could be passed on to other kids.
“Well clearly our ultimate vision is to inspire more children to be more kind more often…that’s the ultimate vision for this foundation,” he said.
The program works by encouraging kids to think of kind things they can do during the day. If a teacher spots a kind act the child gets rewarded with a special bracelet.
“I think that talking about character at school is really important,” said Dyan Mumma, PTA President.
Organizers say that while this program is one more step to put an end to bullying, they say it has a little bit of a twist with the emphasis in a different place.
“Instead of focusing on the negative and saying, ‘Don’t do this or don’t do that’, the program takes the flip side and says, ‘Do this,’” Mumma said.
The students we talked with like the idea.
“It’s just really important to try to lift people up when they’re down. It’s really nice,” said 12-year-old Logan.
Many students have been thinking of different ways they can be kind.
“To be nice to your teachers and try to be kind to your gym teacher, your special teachers, your groups of teachers,” said 9-year-old Audrey Nipps.
Parents and teachers say they can’t imagine what Drew went through losing his son but they hope Bixby helps pass on his legacy and simply be kind.
Link to the Direct Article
From our reports | Posted: Friday, January 13, 2012 4:13 pm
Schools in the Bixby District have chosen to participate in the Josh Stevens Foundation “Be Kind” Program. Josh Stevens was a boy who tragically lost his life but who has been memorialized for what he was best known for, his kindness. He was always practicing random acts of kindness, and his family has created this foundation to honor his legacy by setting an example for all students to follow.
Students at Bixby North Elementary, North Intermediate, Central, Brassfield and Bixby Middle School will be encouraged to be kind to other students, staff and visitors at each of their schools and in their day-to-day lives. If they are “caught” being kind, they will be rewarded with a special Josh Stevens kindness bracelet as well as accolades from staff and students alike. The foundation will provide each staff member in all of the schools (including bus drivers, cafeteria staff and janitorial staff) with special “Be Kind” T-shirts to remind students to always think about what it means to be a kind person and to continue to make a difference in their school community. Students will also have a chance to order matching T-shirts for a small fee. Drew Stevens, Josh’s father, is arriving in Bixby January 18 to spend the day with Bixby students, talking about his son and his foundation. The staff of all of our schools will wear their “Be Kind” T-shirts on this special day and then once a month after this day to continue to promote kindness in their schools.
It is the hope of the district that with the induction of this new program students will learn that genuine kindness can chance the world.
An assembly is being held at North Elementary at 10:50 a.m., Wednesday, January 18.
