How did schools celebrate World Kindness Day?

18 Nov 2019

Brought into the world in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement (WKM), World Kindness Day (WKD) is internationally observed on November 13 each year.

A celebration to highlight good deeds in the community, WKD primarily focuses on the positive power and the common thread of kindness that binds people together.

For international schools, this event calls for small acts of kindness from their campus learning communities, as faculty members, teachers and students all get the chance to showcase their appreciation for each other.

And as no good deed should go unnoticed, Study International decided to see what schools were up to on the celebratory day of world kindness.

Caring by wearing a cardigan

Today is #WorldKindnessDay. I’m sporting a cardigan in honor of Mr. Fred Rogers, who always said to look for the helpers. I’m blessed to be surrounded by the helpers I see in classrooms & in our schools everyday – adults and students. #CardiganDay #WEareLakota pic.twitter.com/c0qqFcwfhE

— Matt Miller (@LakotaSuper) November 13, 2019

Honoured all over the US with displays of cardigan-wearing students and teachers, the late American television personality Fred Rogers was nationally known for spreading compassion and teaching a generation of schoolkids the value of kindness.

To celebrate World Kindness Day in style, educators and pupils put on their favourite cardigan in remembrance of Mr. Rogers and chose to revel in his famous quote:

“There are three ways to ultimate success: the first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”

Tokens of teacher appreciation

The 4th gr. S.A.C. reps from Washington Elm. School help to express world Kindness Day by providing a cup of hot chocolate at outdoor recess today. #hpsdawesome pic.twitter.com/MHbuRq2Ztx

— Washington Elm (@Washington_Elm) November 13, 2019

Some schools decided to celebrate the day by encouraging students to hand out tokens of appreciation to their teachers.

From a simple hot chocolate on a cold playground duty to a joint, thoughtful gift to from the class to their teacher, acts of kindness appeared in many different forms in schools across the world.

Writing kind words

These kids all chose one person in the school to write a kindness letter to for World Kindness Day yesterday. It was awesome to see how quickly they chose someone to write to and how thoughtful their letters were! 💜 pic.twitter.com/sOD2ObS6wU

— Cat Burns (@TeacherCat2_3) November 15, 2019

At the school above, children chose a special individual within the community to write a letter of kindness to.

Through heartfelt words, the recipient of the letter has something to hold onto throughout their school journey, enabling everyone to feel appreciated and welcomed into the campus community.

As an easy and cost-effective activity, other schools around the world chose to discuss kindness in their school assembly.

Constructing a wall of kindness

Student Council organized an activity during lunch for World Kindness Day. Students wrote notes of appreciation and compliments to our wonderful school staff. pic.twitter.com/tZmCpmO7dG

— Denver Elementary (@DenverEl) November 13, 2019

At Denver Elementary School, students covered the school’s kindness banner wall with sticky notes.

Scribbling down personal thanks and notes of appreciation to their teachers and the school’s faculty members, the school produced a collage of kindness, inspiring passers-by, parents and the general public.