French Ford Middle School has been promoting kindness and caring throughout the school year as a result of the Rachel’s Challenge Assembly that was presented to the entire school at the beginning of the school year.
As a result of the information that was presented concerning Rachel and her family in the Columbine Shooting of April 20, 1999, the students at FFMS have joined together to create the Friends of Rachel (FOR) Club in which acts of kindness and compassion are promoted. The students meet during lunch to create activities and functions that will encourage the students at FFMS to remember Rachel’s compassion for other people and to instill that compassion in our school environment.
By working together and brainstorming ideas about how to create a positive atmosphere in our school, the FOR Club decided to set up a compliment table before winter break.
During lunch, all of the students were given the opportunity to fill out a compliment card to give to another student to thank them for an act of kindness that they were observed doing.
According to Sheryl Radtke, the school counselor, the students’ response to this activity was so well received that the FOR Club ran out of supplies by the third day of the event which resulted in 1,000 compliments given to students throughout the week.
The Rachel’s Challenge Assembly was a very positive influence at FFMS that highly motivated the students to encourage kindness throughout the school and to give the entire school the opportunity to spread compassion and kind words to each other that will hopefully encourage good deeds throughout the rest of the school year.
