Start With Hello Builds Connections Across Chagrin Falls Schools
A hello. An invitation to join a group. A conversation with someone new.
Students across Chagrin Falls Schools spent the week of Sept. 22–25 focusing on small actions that can help others feel welcomed and included as part of Start With Hello Week.
Start With Hello, an initiative of Sandy Hook Promise, encourages students to notice social isolation, reach out to others and build a stronger sense of connection and belonging. Throughout the district, each school brought that message to students in age appropriate ways.
The week also created connections between buildings, with older students visiting younger Tigers and opportunities to create new connections.
Gurney: Kindness Grows Here
At Gurney Elementary, students focused on simple ways to show kindness and include others.
Kindergarten and first-grade students created pictures and cards for their buddy classes, while second- and third-graders added kind notes. Students were also challenged to say hello to five people they didn't know well.
The connections extended beyond Gurney. Eighth-grade students welcomed Gurney students as they arrived at school Wednesday, and Intermediate School students joined students during lunch and recess Friday to talk and play games. Gurney students shared some kindness of their own by creating bookmarks with encouraging messages to be donated to libraries in other district schools.
Intermediate School: Putting Kindness Into Action
At Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, students had several opportunities to turn the week's message into action.
Lunch activities included Start With Hello Bingo, signing a student-created banner as a pledge to be inclusive, and using conversation cards to get students talking with one another. Students also wrote kind messages about classmates and staff on paper rings that were connected into grade-level kindness chains.
Sixth graders also created Start With Hello stickers for Gurney students, while groups of Intermediate students visited Gurney later in the week.
Middle School: Making New Connections
Middle School students started the week with welcoming messages, decorating sidewalks during lunch and recess and learning more about the purpose behind Start With Hello.
Throughout the week, opportunities to connect were built into the school day. Students and staff shared lunch together, seventh-grade students visited fourth graders at the Intermediate School, and students wrote special shout-outs recognizing someone else in their school community.
Eighth graders also headed to Gurney to greet younger students, while the week concluded with a schoolwide Walk and Talk led by members of the High School Wellness Council.
High School: Starting Small
At Chagrin Falls High School, the focus was on small actions students could incorporate into their everyday routines.
Daily challenges encouraged students to look beyond their usual circles, invite someone into a conversation and identify a trusted adult at school they could turn to for help. On Club Friday, students were encouraged to welcome someone new or connect with someone they didn't know well through a shared interest.
Staff participated, too, with a challenge to intentionally connect each day with a student they don't normally interact with. During lunch Friday, Sources of Strength students hosted a courtyard chalking event where students could share their own sources of strength while spending time together.
