Middle Gate Elementary School students were offered a challenge during two school assemblies on Wednesday, December 10: to conduct at least 1,000 acts of kindness by the end of the school year.

“We’re here to talk about kindness,” said Middle Gate third grade teacher Claire DeSisto, who welcomed students to the first Community Circle assembly last Wednesday.

Kindness, as Ms DeSisto pointed out to the students, is something the school community has discussed and focused on before.

She asked students to share some of the kind things they have been doing in their lives and how it made them feel. One student said doing something kind made her feel “like I was helping people and I made them happy.”

Another student said, “I felt better if someone maybe was bullying someone and I stepped up to them… I felt happy and good.”

One student from each grade in the school was recognized during the first assembly for being kind or for performing kind acts regularly, before two representatives from Ben’s Bells Newtown spoke to the gathered students.

Jennifer Avari and Tricia Guiry explained they were there to challenge Middle Gate Principal Chris Geissler. The women called Mr Geissler up before challenging him and the school community to perform acts of kindness.

“Oh. We accept,” said Mr Geissler.

To kick off the challenge, Ms Avari and Ms Guiry “surprised” Mr Geissler by dumping a bucket filled with paper cutouts of the Ben’s Bells floral symbol on his head.

“I just got blasted with kindness,” Mr Geissler said, with bright green Ben’s Bells symbols surrounding him on the floor of the school’s gymnasium.

Mr Geissler then told the students that he would need their help to complete the 1,000 acts of kindness before the end of the school year. He also said he would be stopping by different classrooms each week to challenge those classes to perform even more acts of kindness during their week. But, he said, performing “big and meaningful” acts of kindness will not be limited to the classes that are being highlighted.

“Do you think you can do it?” Mr Geissler asked.

“Yes!” the assembled students replied together.

“Are you going to help ?” the principal asked again.

“Yes!”

Mr Geissler explained that buckets will be set up to collect acts of kindness that the students perform throughout the school.

“Okay,” Mr Geissler concluded. “It’s on.”