Madison School Becomes First In NJ To Participate In National Kindness Campaign

Central Avenue School (CAS) in Madison, NJ kicked off their two-week long “Gratitude Campaign” on October 2nd as part of a larger initiative called Look For The Good Project, a Connecticut based non-profit organization that has inspired thousands of kids nationally and internationally to uplift their school communities with gratitude and kindness. CAS is the first school in New Jersey to launch their own affiliated gratitude campaign which started with a school-wide assembly this past Friday.

Orange “Gratitude Spots” will be marked throughout the school to remind kids to stop, take a moment, and think about something or someone they are grateful for in their life. Mike Shugrue, the CAS Guidance Counselor, says “All day long, we see kids stopping on the gratitude spots, thinking and talking to themselves before moving on. Lots of smiles. It’s great to see our kids really getting into it.”

Colorful sticky note “Gratitude Walls” line the hallways with students’ sentiments of gratitude, kindness and inspirations. “It’s been amazing to see these walls come to life with colorful sentiments. Kids will stop and read each other’s notes and see what their peers are grateful for,” says Maureen Magnani, a reading specialist at CAS who also offers before and after school enrichment classes in Mindfulness and Yoga. With each student writing one sticky note per day for ten days, CAS expects to have a rainbow of over 5,500 sentiments on display. CAS parents and caretakers are also invited to add their notes in the vestibule outside the main office.

Hand-picked 5th Grade Ambassadors will spread more kindness by handing out “Kindness Cards” each saying “You Matter”. The children are encouraged to tell other students why they matter and the recipient will then pass it along to someone else. Magnani adds, “The students love hearing it from each other. The impact of the “You Matter” cards is much greater coming from a peer than it is from a teacher, guidance counselor or principal.”

The Look For The Good Project (lookforthegood.org) is a national program emphasizing kindness, compassion and acceptance among elementary school children which in turn aims to reduce bullying. This program has generated 950,000+ messages of gratitude, and countless acts of kindness in just two years.

Participating in this broader project supports Central Avenue School’s ongoing commitment to teaching its students about the importance of respect and its anti-bullying efforts. Principal Thomas Liss sums the campaign up perfectly by adding, “Over the last five years we have really made an effort to show appreciation for one another in the CAS Learning Community. This is done through chains of character that are announced each morning, full-school assemblies focused on appreciation and accepting others, the message that it is okay to be unique, and now through the Look For The Good Project. I hope when students leave Central Avenue School they appreciate what they have, but most importantly they accept others.”

For more information, please contact: Maureen Magnani or Mike Shugrue at (973) 593-3173.