By Eliza Hallabeck

Hawley Elementary School students and staff worked together over the week of December 5 to December 9 to create a painted image of a tree. Handprints represented leaves on the finished product, which was on view at the school by December 9.

The effort was planned and coordinated by the school's Kindness Committee, and it was part of a Kindness Month program at the school. A Kindness Assembly is also planned for later in the month.

Students in the school read

Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten. According to a description of the book, it was created to inspire children to use their power to help themselves and others achieve dreams. Some classes held reading circles to read the book together.

A Kindness Cart was also created to bring the book and activities to go with it around to different classrooms. First grade teacher Shannon Davies arranged the Kindness Cart, and she said it started rolling through the school on Thursday, December 8.

The Kindness Cart included a reading lesson about the book, and a writing assignment for students to answer, "What will your beautiful hands do today?" The student answers will be made into a book about the kind acts their hands are capable of completing, and the book will be stored in the school's library.

Another Kindness Cart activity had students write kind messages that will be distributed throughout the Newtown community. Other books about kindness were also available on the cart for students to read, and hot cocoa was offered for students to drink while reading the books.

The

Beautiful Hands book inspired the schoolwide art project of the tree, and students and staff took turns adding their handprints to it throughout the week. When completed, the center of the tree read, "What will your beautiful hands do today?" in the shape of a heart. All around it, in an array of color, handprints are arranged in the branches.