Hawley Elementary School students and staff came together for the school’s 12th annual Kindness Assembly on Friday, December 20.

The assembly originally began as a sing-a-long, but has grown over the years into a celebration of kindness through art, writing, and music.

Hawley Language Arts Consultant Patricia Vitarelli said that the Kindness Assembly is also the culminating event of the school’s annual Kindness Month, where students explore the meaning of kindness and are encouraged to support one another through various activities.

Classrooms got to visit the school’s “kindness post office,” where they could send a kind note to another student. This led to each student receiving their own note filled with words of kindness and support. Students also participated in Hawley’s Spirit Week, where they raised $800 for charitable causes.

One of the biggest activities was that every classroom read the children’s book Be Kind written by Pat Miller and illustrated by Jen Hill. The story follows a girl named Tanisha, who spills grape juice all over her brand-new dress at school. When the narrator helps Tanisha in her time of need, she realizes the power of small acts of kindness, and how one kind act can grow into something bigger.

Vitarelli said during the assembly that the book serves as a “touching reminder of the difference each and every one of us can make in the lives of others, especially those who are having a bad day.”

In the spirit of Miller and Hill’s message in Be Kind, each student had the opportunity to create a “Chain of Kindness.” Students were asked to think about what it means to be kind and then list two ways in which they showed kindness through giving, paying attention, standing up for their friends, and more.

Everyone wrote their different acts of kindness on purple hearts, with their hearts linked together to form a small chain. These purple hearts decorated the hallways by the school’s entrance, so that whenever someone stepped into the building, they could look at and read how students show their kindness at Hawley and beyond. There were so many hearts that walls and doors were completely covered from top to bottom.

A few students from each grade got to read their own “Chain of Kindness” during the assembly, sharing how they saved the last cookie for another student or said something kind to their mom, and so on.

This year’s assembly was particularly special because it was run by six fourth grade students chosen as the school’s first ever Kindness Ambassadors. In the past, members of the school’s Kindness Committee — made up of faculty and staff — helped facilitate and run the event. However, this year Hawley staff wanted to shake things up, and give students a chance to lead the discussion on kindness.

Fourth grade students who wanted to be a Kindness Ambassador had to respond with an essay answering one of two prompts: what kindness means to them or why kindness is important. The Kindness Committee then read all the essays and selected six students as ambassadors to speak during the assembly: Tessa Kaback, Ian Wismar-Burger, Bea Stoica, Liam Fox, Camille Kouassi, and Logan Eide.

Each Kindness Ambassador got a chance to read their essay, and introduced other students and speakers as the assembly went on. Breaking up the speeches were little segments where each grade performed a “Kindness Song” for the rest of the school, a carry-over from how the assembly originally started as a sing-a-long all those years ago.

From the kindergartners singing “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles to the second graders singing “You Saved My Life” by Andy Grammar, each song focused on spreading kindness and supporting others. Students from all grades excitedly came together to sing one final song, “Nothing More” by Alternate Routes, towards the end of the ceremony.

Hawley Principal Christopher Moretti got to speak to everyone during the assembly, and mentioned how excited he was to have students take charge this time around.

Moretti told the audience that faculty members are usually the ones leading the assembly and telling everyone what kindness is. So to him, having the Kindness Ambassadors take the reins and speak to their fellow students about what kindness means to them has been “such a wonderful opportunity.”

Moretti said that all month long he could hear students practicing songs from their classrooms, read all the hearts decorating Hawley’s hallways, and see kind notes sent to other students as he walked through the building. He encouraged students to keep that kindness in their hearts, and to never forget how powerful one act of kindness is.

“Just remember how you felt when you got that kind note how wonderful that gift is, to just say or do something kind for someone,” Moretti said. “It costs us nothing. We all have it, and we’re all able to do it. And it’s a joy when I see you being kind to each other every day.”

Vitarelli took the mic again and closed out the ceremony by telling everyone to keep being kind.

“As I say to you at the end of every one of these assemblies, just because Kindness Month is over doesn’t mean kindness stops now,” Vitarelli said. “Let’s keep the kindness going all-year long.”

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.