Students at a school in Lindsay, Ontario received cookies with kindness messages as part of the school board's annual Day of Kindness. The goal was to encourage students to perform acts of kindness by either eating the cookie or giving it away and paying kindness forward. The Day of Kindness aims to promote kindness throughout the school board and give students opportunities to show kindness through activities like poster contests and good deeds. The school board director said the Day of Kindness is important for nurturing character in students.

1. Kindness Day shows the way
Students at LCVI received a cookie with a kindness message during
homeroom; they could choose to either eat it and pay forward a
new act of kindness, or give away the cookie later.
Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how. – Author
Unknown
LINDSAY, ON – Imagine a day – a day when kindness is the
way.
That's what the second annual Trillium Lakelands District
School Board Day of Kindness is about – a day-long immersion in a life-long dream.
Schools around the Board this week are generating creative ways to raise the profile of "being
nice." From pay-it-forward cards, to walls of honour, poster contests, book studies, and good
deeds, students are learning what it's like to live in a world where kindness is the way.
Students at Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute received a cookie with a kindness
message during homeroom class; they could choose to either eat it and pay forward a new act of
kindness, or give it away later.
Director of Education Larry Hope said the Day of Kindness is a unique idea at Trillium
Lakelands DSB, generated last fall by the Superintendent of Safe Schools, Kevin Cutler.
"We know that in every school, every day – in fact in each classroom at any given moment –
students are being kind to one another. They'll offer a crayon, or a smile, or a hug. But we also
know that too often there are other things happening – both in school and out. We refer to it as
misbehaviour, bullying, or worse. The Day of Kindness gives us, as a Board, the chance to
"profile" the good behaviour," he said.
Schools across the Board are taking part in various ways. Some have keynote speakers to
motivate students while others are generating classroom activities. One Lindsay secondary
school is holding a Kindness Fair to showcase the various clubs in the school that offer services
to others, or the environment.
"It's great to see this idea grow – this year many schools are embedding the idea in a series of
day-long events. One school is holding a "Month of Kindness," Hope said. Others are
incorporating this idea into Valentine's Day activities to help extend the life of the Day of
Kindness.
"Part of educating a child is giving them the chance to grow character," Hope said.

2. "Like anything that grows, character needs nurturing," he said. "That's why our Day of Kindness
is so important."
SEE ORIGINAL ONLINE POST AT http://tldsb.ca/item/271-kindness-day-shows-the-way/