The student-led organization No Place For Hate coordinated a “Kindness Week” at the high school that began March 31 and included spirit days, team challenges and informational videos culminating in an assembly April 4.
Junior Solan Coutts said the group chose to create a kindness week for many different reasons.
“We wanted to give a reminder for students to continuously be kind and make everyone feel included,” he explained. “It’s also a break while there are many stressful things at the end of the year, like end of year finals and AP exams.”
Senior Helena Sidel added the week consisted of different spirit days and activities. Dress up days included pajama day, western day and spirit day, and each had an activity coupled with them to promote inclusivity and acceptance in the school, she added.
Sidel said the assembly at the end of the week tied the messages of kindness together and reminded students of the characteristics needed to make the high school a more welcoming and safe environment.
“We will be working on togetherness,” she said. “Even if we’re from different backgrounds, we can all work together towards the same goal.”
Leader of Diversity Equity and Inclusion Stephen Lewis Sr. added the overall goal of the national organization No Place For Hate is to create a kinder and more inclusive society and future.
“The idea is that if we can help children see the value of treating each other as human beings, where there is no place for hate, when they become adults, they will carry that same mindset,” he said.
Lewis explained the district is in the process of becoming an official No Place For Hate district. He said since No Place For Hate is a national organization, each school in the district must complete three initiatives to earn this title.
Lewis said the recent Kindness Week was the final of the three initiatives No Place For Hate has completed this year to foster a more welcoming and inclusive environment. He added the first initiative they took was the spirit week run by the Black Student Union.
“It was an opportunity to bring the school together and to do some wonderful things,” he said. “It culminated with the soul food menu that Friday, and we saw a lot of engagement.”
Lewis explained many high school students dressed in black on the last day of the spirit week to show solidarity with the Black Student Union.
The second initiative was the Black Student Union’s Black History Month assembly, Lewis said. This was a way to educate students on African American leaders within the community, he explained.
“The information that they shared benefitted all students,” he added. “It wasn’t just for Black students.”
Coutts explained throughout the year, he has seen the impact of No Place For Hate on the high school students.
“I just love the feeling of making a better impact on the world within the school,” he said. “I love that I get to see more smiles.”