Aylin Olmez, Kyle Moyo and Owenkhosi Sigudla, Grade 10
UWCSA (Waterford)
Waterford Kamhlaba UWSA participated in the Great Kindness Week Challenge for the first time this year. This was a brave attempt from the B.I.O.N.I.C. team. We had the privilege to also acquire feedback from a member of that team.
B.I.O.N.I.C. stands for “Believe It Or Not I Care” and is a group of students from form 3 (14-15-year-olds) to IB2 (17-18-year-olds) who work hand in hand with the school counsellors. Together they aim to make the school a positive and safe space for every single student. This team is a revamp of the previous support group known as the Peer Supporters.
Seemal Zahra Bukhari, a member of the B.I.O.N.I.C. team, when interviewed mentioned that the team was started in our school in order to make it a more nurturing environment where all pupils could feel appreciated and wanted. This initiative was created to leave a mark on the students and create a calm and caring climate, where students cooperate more with each other. The “Great Kindness Week” movement was created in 2004/2005 in response to four suicides that occurred in another high school. The B.I.O.N.I.C. team exists to encourage students to help one another and make the student body realize that there are people in this community who care about their wellbeing. It was established in support of improving the general mental health within the community.
The Great Kindness Week Challenge was started by Jill McManigal whose aim was to spread kindness across the schools. Now it has become a global movement aimed to convey that kindness is a habit that we need to incorporate into our own lives. This challenge emphasizes the point that the little things we do make us kind. Around 13 million people, in over 2400 schools have taken part over 650 million acts of kindness in over 110 countries. As the figures increase, the world potentially becomes a kinder environment.
Great Kindness Week at Waterford Kamhlaba took place from the 29th of January to the 5th of February. The week-long activities curated by Carla Cabrita, Lyla Berman and their B.I.O.N.I.C Team began shortly after the announcement of the school-wide movement during the second assembly of the term. Each student was provided with a “Great Kindness” checklist, challenging them to engage in and encourage various acts of kindness such as befriending someone new, showing appreciation to campus staff or aiding someone in need, in whatever shape or form that may be.
On the Monday morning thereafter, as students arrived at school, they were greeted by a parade of staff members and B.I.O.N.I.C Team members holding up signs with positive affirmations and welcoming messages. The “Kindness Tunnel” as it was called was to make students feel welcomed and encourage a warmer school environment. At break-time, the colorful “Kindness Matters” poster was laid across the tables outside the cafeteria. Members of the school community came and dipped their hands in paint and added their handprints to the poster. The “Be The ‘I’ in Kind” poster was placed outside on the library. Students were allowed to take pictures in front of it, the handprints represented a commitment for the students to commit to kindness in their ongoing life. The event concluded with Wednesday’s “Rainbow Assembly” where students were encouraged to come wearing their favorite color. “Be a Rainbow in Someone’s Cloud” was the prompt posted up around the school. The rainbow is a universal symbol of kindness and diversity - two important values prioritized among UWCs worldwide.
The motive behind this week was to display to students how effortless and easy it is to be kind. We believe that this was achieved, as, throughout the week, we realized that the majority of the acts of kindness were involuntary. These were actions the student body would do every day, oblivious to the fact offering someone unfamiliar a smile may have a bigger impact than we think. It did not take a lot of work to open the door to the cafeteria for another person or carry a friend’s books. These were normal day to day interactions, yet we needed a checklist to confirm whether or not you were kind. By the end of the week, the next challenge ahead was how the school was going to maintain this positive energy, and preventing the acts of kindness, from being a once-off deed. How will we ensure that we fully integrate kindness into our communities? As Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA we are committed to making kindness a daily routine and even a lifestyle, because believe or not we certainly do care!
B.I.O.N.I.C. stands for “Believe It Or Not I Care” and is a group of students from form 3 (14-15-year-olds) to IB2 (17-18-year-olds) who work hand in hand with the school counsellors. Together they aim to make the school a positive and safe space for every single student. This team is a revamp of the previous support group known as the Peer Supporters.
Seemal Zahra Bukhari, a member of the B.I.O.N.I.C. team, when interviewed mentioned that the team was started in our school in order to make it a more nurturing environment where all pupils could feel appreciated and wanted. This initiative was created to leave a mark on the students and create a calm and caring climate, where students cooperate more with each other. The “Great Kindness Week” movement was created in 2004/2005 in response to four suicides that occurred in another high school. The B.I.O.N.I.C. team exists to encourage students to help one another and make the student body realize that there are people in this community who care about their wellbeing. It was established in support of improving the general mental health within the community.
The Great Kindness Week Challenge was started by Jill McManigal whose aim was to spread kindness across the schools. Now it has become a global movement aimed to convey that kindness is a habit that we need to incorporate into our own lives. This challenge emphasizes the point that the little things we do make us kind. Around 13 million people, in over 2400 schools have taken part over 650 million acts of kindness in over 110 countries. As the figures increase, the world potentially becomes a kinder environment.
Great Kindness Week at Waterford Kamhlaba took place from the 29th of January to the 5th of February. The week-long activities curated by Carla Cabrita, Lyla Berman and their B.I.O.N.I.C Team began shortly after the announcement of the school-wide movement during the second assembly of the term. Each student was provided with a “Great Kindness” checklist, challenging them to engage in and encourage various acts of kindness such as befriending someone new, showing appreciation to campus staff or aiding someone in need, in whatever shape or form that may be.
On the Monday morning thereafter, as students arrived at school, they were greeted by a parade of staff members and B.I.O.N.I.C Team members holding up signs with positive affirmations and welcoming messages. The “Kindness Tunnel” as it was called was to make students feel welcomed and encourage a warmer school environment. At break-time, the colorful “Kindness Matters” poster was laid across the tables outside the cafeteria. Members of the school community came and dipped their hands in paint and added their handprints to the poster. The “Be The ‘I’ in Kind” poster was placed outside on the library. Students were allowed to take pictures in front of it, the handprints represented a commitment for the students to commit to kindness in their ongoing life. The event concluded with Wednesday’s “Rainbow Assembly” where students were encouraged to come wearing their favorite color. “Be a Rainbow in Someone’s Cloud” was the prompt posted up around the school. The rainbow is a universal symbol of kindness and diversity - two important values prioritized among UWCs worldwide.
The motive behind this week was to display to students how effortless and easy it is to be kind. We believe that this was achieved, as, throughout the week, we realized that the majority of the acts of kindness were involuntary. These were actions the student body would do every day, oblivious to the fact offering someone unfamiliar a smile may have a bigger impact than we think. It did not take a lot of work to open the door to the cafeteria for another person or carry a friend’s books. These were normal day to day interactions, yet we needed a checklist to confirm whether or not you were kind. By the end of the week, the next challenge ahead was how the school was going to maintain this positive energy, and preventing the acts of kindness, from being a once-off deed. How will we ensure that we fully integrate kindness into our communities? As Waterford Kamhlaba UWCSA we are committed to making kindness a daily routine and even a lifestyle, because believe or not we certainly do care!
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