It might be the most wonderful time of the year, but what is the spirit of the season? In general, we’re encouraged to be joyful, charitable, generous, kind and forgiving — which are all behaviors that run counter to our inclined responses to the stresses caused by holiday shopping, holiday travel and general holiday interactions.
The holidays can be stressful, that’s for sure.
Luckily, Sudbury is reminded of the season’s meaning by the Kindness Ninjas. Over the past three years, Grade 9 French Immersion students from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School have collaborated with the Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten students (also known as the Kindness Ninjas) from R.L.Beattie Public School to spread good will in our community.
This collaboration has enabled students to engage in experiential learning, to use their French-language skills in authentic situations, and to build meaningful relationships while spreading kindness to others. Prior to the pandemic, students had participated in a similar holiday event that brought happiness to many people.
This year on Dec. 6, the Kindness Ninjas were active, giving out candy canes and kindness messages in front of Canadian Tire, Tim Hortons and Smith’s Market at Algonquin Plaza in the city’s South End.
“This year we are on a mission to spread holiday cheer to our community through the distribution of candy canes and bilingual kindness messages that will be distributed to patrons of local businesses in our school area,” board spokesperson Nicole Charette told Sudbutry.com. “As teachers, our kindness missions are tangible ways we can show our students that being kind can change the world!”
The Kindness Ninja’s words of inspiration
The goal of a Kindness Ninja is to spread kindness to all people in our community. Through our kindness missions, the message we are promoting is that being kind is a simple yet effective way to create a positive community.
James Stewart is a writer in North Bay. Inspire is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
