#WeR210 by Mrs. Watkins:
A culture goal is meant to improve people and situations. Our USD 210 teachers find many creative ways to make our students, staff and community better. Mrs. Shelby Evans' goal for this year is to create a kindness squad that will spread positive vibes and promote ways to help others. Mrs. Evans and her students have decided to #PlasterPositive by starting each week with joy. How do they do it? There's a lot of Science involved...
If you drive by the Hugoton Elementary School on a Monday morning, you will feel good. Here's why.... You'll need to know this: Oxytocin is a chemical that we each have in our body, it just needs to be released. You get oxytocin by doing nice things for others and those nice things must require you to sacrifice a little bit of time and a little bit of energy.... both are things that you will never get back.
Mrs. Evans' Fourth grade homeroom students have decided to release some oxytocin by meeting in front of the elementary school each "Marvelous Monday Morning" to squeal, clap, dance, smile, laugh, and cheer their friends into school. As a principal and chief crosswalk escort, how do I know it's working? It is obvious because the students will tell you that they feel better when they greet their friends, and even the parents are smiling as they observe these students' providing their gifts of time and energy. Oxytocin works that way. As it turns out, the simple act of witnessing actions of generosity also releases the chemical.
As my favorite author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek said, "Leadership is not a rank. Leadership is not a position. Leadership is a decision. Leadership is a choice. If you decide to look after the person to the left of you and you decide to look after the person to the right of you, you are a leader."
Thank you to Mrs. Evans for leading and creating leaders, and to Mrs. Evans' students for providing happy feelings, and making our school and community better! If you need a boost of oxytocin, take a lesson from these students and find a way to give your time and energy to help others. Join Mrs. Evans' #KindnessSquad.