Elementary school students build bench with secret compartment to share messages of kindness
Wesley is reflecting on that day he started falling off the monkey bars at school.
“My leg got stuck,” the nine-year-old says, before adding that the rest of his limbs were being pulled to the ground by gravity.
“It felt like quicksand. Not good.”
Before we can appreciate the end of Wesley’s story, we need to know about the beginning of the bench he’s sitting on.
“We made it with power tools,” Wesley smiles, before imitating the noises each one made. “The electric sander sounds like ghzeeeee!”
Wesley built the bench with his classmates at the James Bay Community School, including Tesekla.
“It was so much fun,” Tesekla smiles, adding that painting the bench like a rainbow was her favourite part.
“I wish we made them every day!”
The project was part of their teacher Alyson King’s plan to create a place for positivity in the school, with a twist.
“Generally, these ‘Buddy Benches’ create places to where [students] can get a friend,” Alyson explains.
While their bench has certainly proven to be a venue for comfort, calm, and connection, there’s more.
“There’s a secret compartment!” Tesekla exclaims.
Alyson says the rainbow bench is all about empowering kids to cultivate kindness
“This compartment contains notes of gratitude to each other,” Alyson says, pointing to a plastic tube hidden underneath the bench.
All the students in the school can take a paper form that’s available available in every classroom, pen something positive about someone else, and deposit the note in that secret compartment underneath the rainbow bench.
“Showing kindness makes me feel really good,” Tesekla says. “And it makes other people feel really good too.”
Alyson empties the secret compartment daily and reads every note.
They range from “I really like your hat” and “thanks for helping me with my math” to “thank you for playing with me when no one wanted to play with me.”
“For these kids to recognize that they have a capacity to help their peers is pretty amazing,” Alyson smiles.
Every Thursday, the principal Marla Margetts shares some of the notes with the whole school during the morning announcements.
“The fact that they have such confidence to just say, ‘Hey, I love you,’ ‘You’re helpful,’ ‘You’re kind,’” Marla smiles. “We can learn a lot from kids."
That brings us back to Wesley, who says that he was saved from his monkey bars/quicksand predicament by a fellow student.
“Tosh came and pulled me out,” Wesley smiles. “It was really heroic of him and just wanted to thank him.”
So Wesley thanked him with a note full of grateful gold at the end of the rainbow bench.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New Norad commander calls Canada's defence policy update 'very encouraging'
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.