BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Kindness and compassion have swept into Battle Mountain in the form of Rachel's Clubs, named after Rachel Scott, the first victim in the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, who touched the lives of thousands with her love and kindness.
More than 60 students are taking part in these clubs at Battle Mountain High School, Battle Mountain Junior High School and Eleanor Lemaire Elementary School. Rachel's Challenge programs and presenters have come to Battle Mountain several times in the past two years, spurring the kick-off of these clubs.
The high school club got started in February and is run by Jill Paull, Kelly Douglas, Raelyn Wallock, Roger Wallock, Johna Reeves, Sondra Torgerson and Susan Baldwin.
Cindy Clark, K - eight counselor, is in charge of the clubs at Lemaire and the junior high. Junior high teacher Carrie Jo Stewart and Clark kicked off the junior high club in April 2011.
Junior high club members said they enjoy being in the club and feel it is essential to helping have a positive environment in the school.
"It's good because it teaches people how to respect each other and it teaches people that words hurt," said seventh-grader Alyssa Edgar. "I'm a part of Rachel's Club because I like to teach people how to be nice and respect each other."
Fellow seventh-grader Michaelen Burgess added, "The one thing that I mostly like about the club is that people are in it to show others that you should treat others the way you want to be treated and teach everybody that there is always another way to tell them that you are mad at them instead of using physical activity."
Seventh-grader Morgan Guin said the club helps create a chain reaction of kindness.
"I like that it teaches people kindness and that it motivates people to start a chain reaction and I think it's good for the school because it shows people how to respect each other and treat others," said Guin.
Fourth-grader Mikey Ingraham, president of the Lemaire Rachel's Club, is the one who kicked off the Lemaire program in February.
"I like the fact that we are all working together to learn how to stop bullies because we are still in training," said Ingraham," who added that his goal is, "working together to stop bullying because when Rachel was in high school when the school shooting happened, she was always so nice to other people and when new kids came, she would go to their table."
Ingraham said he feels the Rachel's Challenge programs and clubs carry on Rachel Scott's legacy of kindness and compassion.
The goal and mission of the clubs is for the students to serve as role models for caring and kindness and to assist new students as they come into the schools. The students in the clubs also assist students who need help and work on special projects that help promote a caring environment in their respective schools. The students in the clubs try and help fellow students appreciate each other.
The latest project at the junior high is a Facebook page that is devoted to positive praise and posts and serves as a place to appreciate others. Soon the club will be working on a poster campaign to encourage students to be kind to each other and appreciate each other.
Lemaire Rachel's Club students recently presented the program "Think Before You Speak," a 10-minute presentation helping others to think of kinder words to say before hurting someone's feelings. They also sent out kindness cards to students who had been bullied.
At the high school, each adult that runs the group is in charge of a different segment of the group such as posters and marketing, a welcoming committee and a recruiting group. The club is currently working on a paper chain to highlight random acts of kindness, said Jill Paull, one of the group's organizers. Paull said the high school club is planning to coordinate with Lemaire and the junior high on upcoming projects.
"I think it's always good to do nice things for others," said Paull.
She said the roughly 20 high school students who are involved in the club care very deeply about the message of kindness and reaching out to others.
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