Kindness Week at Wellington

Although this year's campus-based activities were slightly curtailed by Typhoon Chanthu, our pupils still had the opportunity to take part in a number of fun and enriching activities.

In Pre-Prep, Kindness was the focus across all lessons, and the children were encouraged to practice everyday acts of kindness to their parents, fellow pupils and teachers. This included simple but meaningful gestures such as writing a 'thank you' note to someone, letting a friend go in front of them while waiting in line and helping a parent make dinner when at home. The children participated in fun physical activities like a sack race, an egg-and-spoon race and yoga, which presented an opportunity for them to talk about how they put Kindness in action with one another.

Children in Lower Prep took part in a range of drama and discussion activities to talk about the importance of being kind and instilling good habits in everything they do. "Being kind to all of those we meet in our everyday lives helps to make us a better person and show that we respect and care for the people around us to make the world a happier place," said Head of Lower Prep Michelle Speight. "It is important that we as adults model kind behaviour to show the difference it can make in our lives."

Our Upper Prep pupils tapped into their creative power for the Kindness Rock Project. During lunch, they were invited to decorate rocks with colourful messages of Kindness. They then gave them as gifts to others or left them around campus in random places in the hope that someone in need of a kind word may find them.

They also launched the 'Kindness Challenge', in which children were encouraged to commit three random acts of Kindness each day during Kindness Week. At the end of the week, they raised the stakes with an even bigger challenge: 1 million acts of Kindness collectively throughout Upper Prep by the end of the school year.

"I think Kindness is one of our most important values. Being kind can increase self-esteem, gratitude and happiness," said Emma Hambling, Head of Upper Prep. "Kindness means you care about other people; kind people treat people kindly because they want to make the other person's life better, and I think we all need that right now."