This feature is featured in the January 2024 issue of Horizons, SISD's magazine.
Students is grades 3-5 have chosen to participate in a club that helps them build important skills that will empower them to change the world with kindness, according to Intermediate School Counselor Renee Stancliffe.
The SIS Kindness Club meets monthly and boasts an impressive membership: nearly 100 third-fifth graders signed up to be a part of this important club.
“These students are making a difference at home, at SIS, and throughout Sunnyvale,” Stancliffe said. “I am humbled that so many students are committed to kindness.”
At each meeting of the SIS Kindness club, students spend time building friendships, learning about kindness, and engaging in a service project.
“In October, we collected food donations and made placemats that were given to families in need for Thanksgiving,” Stancliffe said. “In November, I met with third grade students and they planted daffodil bulbs at the front of the school and decorated the sidewalk with positive messages.”
Stancliffe says the club will continue with further service projects in the coming months. In December, fourth grade members will be decorating stockings and collecting items for the local assisted living facility. When January arrives, fifth grade students will collect donations and create blankets for the animal shelter. In February, the club will be volunteering with an organization called Feed My Starving Children on one of the student holidays.
“Practicing kindness builds self-confidence, establishes strong social bonds, and improves happiness,” she said. “Making kindness a tangible act through service projects helps students develop compassion and empathy. These students are making a difference at home, at SIS, and throughout Sunnyvale. I am humbled that so many students are committed to kindness.”