Boothbay Region Elementary School students have been celebrating kindness throughout December. The Boothbay Register was invited to see guest musical performer Rob Douquette and a few of the classrooms to ask students about their month-long campaign of kindness.

On the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 20, all students up to sixth grade piled into the gymnasium to watch multi-instrumentalist Douquette perform his songs and stories about being kind and what it means to be kind. Students were invited to join in song and eventually to become part of his band.

Assistant Principal Tricia Campbell introduced a first grade class kept busy by its substitute teacher. All the students were seated except one boy crossing the classroom to give his teacher a handful of band-aids for the first aid kit – caught in the act of kindness.

Asked what it means to be kind, students had a variety of responses that revealed the amount of light they shine for their school and for the community.

“Holding the door,” said one first grader.

“Putting chairs up in a row for other people,” said another.

“If they don’t have a book, you can give them a book,” asked another who looking to her teacher and Ms. Campbell.

Teachers and staff recognize these acts of kindness by filling out a “Spirit Card” for the student to turn in to the office. What happens to the cards?

“The elves go to work and make a candle and put it on the wall,” a first grader said.

For every act is a card and for every card is a paper candle on the wall of the halls. Perhaps the greatest example of kindness from the first grade classroom came from the boy crossing the room before our introduction – “I gave my teacher band-aids just now.”

The second grade classroom also had some unique answers to what kindness means. Put succinctly by one second grader, “Kindness. It means being kind to someone.”

The second graders agreed kindness also means helping others. “If someone fell down, give them a help up,” a second grader said.

Mrs. Barbara Carbone Crocker, teacher of the second grade class, said being respectful and responsible are two staples of her classroom any day of the year, but students can learn how to embody those learning points through acts of kindness.

“Kindness makes our school special,” said a girl.

“And kindness is,” Campbell asked.

“Smiling,” said a few of the students in unison.

“Contagious,” said Campbell.

Kathy Hartley and Jennifer Lassen’s classes combined to talk about kindness. The fourth graders were more specific in their definitions of an act of kind gesture.

“Kindness is doing something that nobody asked you to do, like stacking up the chairs at the end of the day,” said a boy.

“Or when someone forgets to grab their lunchbox outside you can hold it up and ask people whose it is,” added another.

Said Campbell, “So not only are we focusing on kindness, but we’re also focusing on respect and effort.”

The students agreed, one explaining that if someone is a natural “blurter” they can work on not interrupting others, and another student saying kindness and respect can be shown by paying attention and not having side conversations.

“That one little thing they can do can affect so many – one small act of kindness is all you really need to do because it filters on to everybody else,” said Hartley.

The candles may go away sometime after the New Year, but kindness is here to stay at BRES. Said a fourth grader, “You have to be kind to other people because you are not just the only one.”