By Chloe Timmons, MSW Intern for The Path at Carteret Middle School
From Monday, September 22, through Friday, September 26, Carteret Middle School observed Start With Hello Week! Start With Hello is an initiative created by the Sandy Hook Promise as part of their School Climate and Safety programming. Start With Hello focuses on fostering an inclusive and resilient school community through activities that help students get to know each other and their school better. The Path at CMS challenged students to step out of their comfort zones, be kind, and befriend classmates that they have not met before!
‘Learn My Name Monday’ – Building Connections Through Kindness
We kicked off the week with “Learn My Name Monday,” where students were challenged to say hello to a peer or introduce themselves to somebody new. Three Path representatives tabled throughout all lunch periods to interact with students and get them excited about Start With Hello Week. We had meaningful conversations with students about how to approach making new friends and the importance of supporting lonely students. As our bubble machine generated thousands of bubbles, students joyfully jumped around popping bubbles with new friends! More than 500 “Start With Hello” stickers were handed out, which students wore to represent being kind and inclusive. To see photos from our tabling event, please check out our most recent post on Instagram, @thepathcms!
Theme Days Encourage Positivity and School Spirit
Themes for the remainder of the week included “Compliment Tuesday” and “Wave Hello Wednesday.” On “Thoughtful Thursday,” we asked CMS students to thank their teachers and staff for all they do. This helped to extend the fostering of a positive school climate to the staff who are with them every day. Finally, for “Fire It Up Friday,” students were invited to go all out with school spirit and kindness.
Recognizing Acts of Kindness and Inclusivity
Throughout the week, CMS staff were invited to nominate students who performed acts of kindness and inclusivity, as well as students they viewed as the kindest in their classes. The Path received 33 unique student nominations describing various small acts of kindness witnessed. All of these students received a small prize bag as a thank you for being kind and inclusive to their peers. Additionally, ten 5th graders from our nomination pool were randomly selected to receive a Start With Hello shirt in addition to a small prize bag, and are encouraged to wear these t-shirts during Start With Hello Week next year! All students were asked to be “Kindness Ambassadors” for The Path and continue to serve as an example for kindness and inclusivity.
Continuing The Path’s Commitment to a Positive School Climate
The Path at CMS thanks all students and staff who helped make Start With Hello Week at CMS a success! Congratulations to our Start With Hello Week winners and Kindness Ambassadors! We hope to continue supporting a positive school climate through our work, and we look forward to our next school-wide initiative in October for drug prevention and education. Go Ramblers!