Colorful outfits, kind words, and meaningful moments filled the halls of Chagrin Falls Intermediate School during Kindness Week, an intentional focus on empathy, inclusion, and leadership. Led by school counselors Annie Schluep and Elizabeth Wolfgang, the initiative was part of the school’s social inclusion programming for students in grades 4–6 and encouraged reflection on how kindness shapes community and how individual actions affect others.
“We want students to understand that kindness isn’t just a theme for a week,” Schluep said. “It’s something that shows up in the small, everyday moments that create a ripple effect and shape our school culture to help everyone feel connected.”
Leading up to Kindness Week, students participated in Guidance Encore lessons that introduced themes of empathy, communication, and inclusion. During the week itself, those lessons came to life. At lunch, students responded to kindness prompts that were displayed throughout the building, participated in Kindness Bingo, and posed for photos at the “Be the I in KIND” banner using props created by sixth grade students.
Kindness shout out containers placed on each floor allowed students to recognize peers who were “caught being kind.” Each day, these messages were collected and shared during announcements, offering moments of celebration and reflection.
Spirit days reinforced the week’s themes, encouraging students to express kindness through creativity and self expression, from wearing yellow to “let kindness shine,” to workout clothes that symbolized problem solving, to crazy socks and hair that brought smiles, and finally, shirts with positive words that emphasized how language matters.
One of the most meaningful experiences of the week took students beyond CFIS. A group of students traveled to Gurney Elementary to spend time with younger students during lunch and recess. The visit gave intermediate students an opportunity to model kindness and leadership while strengthening connections across buildings.
Kindness Week provided intentional opportunities for students to practice leadership in everyday moments. Recognizing a peer, helping a younger student, or choosing words carefully may seem small, but these actions shape how a school community feels and functions.
The week reflects the district’s focus on social inclusion during the intermediate years, when students are developing a stronger sense of identity, responsibility, and leadership. Through structured lessons and shared experiences, students were encouraged to see kindness not as a single event, but as a daily choice that builds trust and belonging.
“Kindness Week is a time to connect with our classmates and focus on being inclusive,” said sixth grader Liam Dixon. “It is a chance for CFIS to come together as one to reflect on the importance of being a leader.”
