MEDFIELD — Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden and Principal Holli Caulfield are pleased to announce that Wheelock School students recently took part in a school-wide Kindness Rocks project.
As part of the project, students across all grade levels spent time painting rocks with inspirational and supportive messages and symbols to share with the entire school community.
The Kindness Rocks Project is a national initiative that began in 2015 on Cape Cod. It has since spread to countries around the world.
The Wheelock PTO began planning the project back in February, and worked with Wheelock art teacher Tracey Babin on formulating a lesson plan that included students reading books about kindness and watching movies about the project.
For the rock painting portion of the project, students picked out the blank rocks they wanted to paint, wrote their initials on the back of the rock and then worked with teachers and parent volunteers to come up with the exact design and message they wanted to paint.
All rocks and supplies were provided free of charge by the Wheelock PTO. Parents Janel McArdle and Kristen Storer chaired the project this year.
“This was truly a joint effort and the entire school gets behind it each year,” McArdle said. “After having to put the project on hold for two years due to COVID, we were thrilled to have it return this year. In a small, simple way, the kids all learned how easy it is to spread kindness and make someone smile, which is what the project is all about.”
Students painted the rocks during art class, with the supervision and support of Babin. Now that the painting is complete, the school will decide where around the school or community they will be placed.
The project has been a staple at Wheelock for many years. It did not occur in 2020 or 2021 due to parent volunteers not being in the school as a result of the pandemic.
“Even though I’ve been at the school for several years this was the first time I’ve been able to experience the Kindness Rocks project, and it was really a special thing to see,” Principal Caulfield said. “Seeing the creativity and enthusiasm of the students is exactly what the project is all about. The mission statement of the Kindness Rocks Project is that ‘One message at just the right moment can change someone’s entire day, outlook, life,’ and thanks to everyone’s hard work and generosity I think these rocks will definitely change people’s days for the better.”
The Medfield Public Schools would like to thank all of the parent volunteers and the Wheelock PTO for their support of the project.
To learn more about the Kindness Rocks Project, click here.
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