Acts of kindness shine at LRHS

Simple acts of kindness can easily be overlooked in the everyday grind, but at Lind-Ritzville High School, a group of students are challenging fellow classmates to practice compassion and consideration.

The LRHS leadership class, under the instruction of Guy Strot, began a 26 Acts of Kindness wall in the school to honor the 26 students and faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary who lost their lives at the hand of violence in December.

The group of seniors and freshmen students began the memorial as an opportunity for themselves and other students to purposely do something kind each and every day they attended school. The kind act changes on a daily basis and can be as simple as, “smile at another student” or can involve more effort like, “help a peer.”

As student Dustin Kommes explained, Strot proposed the idea to the students on the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Kommes said it was important for the topic of kindness to be discussed on MLK’s birthday, as he was a man who stood for equality and kindness.

Kommes is one of 10 students in the leadership class who began the kindness movement at LRHS. Fellow students Dylan Becker, Michael Carruth, Matthias Ferderer, Alan Field, Dakota Forman, Satchel Henneman, Lee Hubbard, Rachel Kropushek, Larissa Miller, Gabriela Oliva, Larry Ruse and Jacob Saetre all have been involved since the beginning. Due to the switch in semesters, some students have transferred to other courses with new students now becoming involved.

Each day, the students change the board to include a daily act of kindness, a quote and a photo of an individual who lost their life at Sandy Hook. Students are encouraged to practice the act of kindness, and record their participation on a poster in the hallway for all to read.

The Sandy Hook tragedy affected all of the students in different ways, but the group shared a common disbelief and fear that the incident could truly occur anywhere. When the news of the incident reached the students, they said they were speechless and confused about how someone could perform such a horrible act.

“I have younger siblings, I know what kids are like,” Kropushek said. “I’m used to being around little kids and its heart wrenching that somebody could just do that, or even think about doing that.”

“I looked at it this way: Well it was clear over there, but it could have been any of the schools around here too,” Hubbard added. “Just that happening to that little of kids, it’s just immoral.”

“It’s just scary to think that that could happen here. Right now we’re trying to bring awareness and trying to prevent it,” added Oliva.

For these students, the acts of kindness help to rebuild their faith in humanity and create a positive atmosphere for their classmates.

The students involved in both semesters of the leadership class explained the daily acts of kindness have helped them become more positive and branch out of their comfort zone. The students had the opportunity to pick the acts for each day, and the personality and beliefs of each student can be found within the act.

“Study with a classmate is awesome because you interact with people. And you find out that some kids you never asked for help, they actually know a lot and they become a good resource,” Oliva explained.

“Write a note to someone who has made a difference in your life is the one I’m looking forward too,” Miller said. “It’s one we’re doing later so we can build up to it.”

“And challenge yourself,” Oliva added.

The general favorite acts for the group of classmates was to smile at someone, make someone laugh and sing a song. All of the acts brought laughter and happiness to the students for that one day, and the leadership class believes being upbeat and positive makes a lasting impact.

With the class being comprised predominately of seniors and freshmen students, the group did not previously know each other and few of them had attended class together. Kropushek recently moved to Ritzville and is attending her first year at the school, while Miller and Oliva are originally Lind students and have not had been in the classroom with the other students.

The students explained that the class has helped them develop not only as leaders, but also as friends. The group has discovered their personalities compliment one another, and they have used the time as classmates to learn more about each other.

Aside from the acts of kindness, the leadership class is continuously working to improve the lifestyle and environment at the school. The students are working on multiple projects, including a fundraising effort to support Kyle Ritz, and have already completed tasks like the new academic wall in the high school.

The students all have different reasons for initially joining the class, and the group that is able to continue a second semester in the course are excited for the opportunity.

The students explain that the leadership classroom is a safe environment filled with new ideas, a diversity of opinions, and a perfect way to develop skills to they can use in the future.

The group also unanimously agrees that Strot is an excellent teacher who puts a lot of thought into his lessons and helps them steadily develop as leaders.

The 26 Acts of Kindness will continue over the course of the next two weeks at the school, and the students encourage community members to develop and create their own acts of kindness.

The group reminds individuals the purpose of the activity is to better the community and do things that not only brighten someone else’s day, but also your own. It is about making a difference in someone’s life, regardless of how small and simple the gesture.