During the week of February 19th-23rd, students, teachers, and other faculty and staff of Wayne Valley all participated in “Kindness Week.” This event, the first of its kind at Wayne Valley, was organized by the Peer Leaders club. From February 1st to the 16th, students and staff had the opportunity to send anonymous compliments to anyone in the school. The week long event encouraged students to be engaged and kinder to each other. Themes such as “ Valley Teams up for Kindness this Week,” “ On Wednesdays We Wear Pink…for Kindness,” “ Mismatch Day,” and “Kindness is Comfort” helped to promote the event. Posters were even made to further encourage students’ participation.

The idea for the Third Party Compliments came originally from Waldwick High School, and after Mr. Wisniewski saw potential in it, the program was implemented as a Week of Kindness activity. Mr. Wisniewski felt that the project was a success, citing a student’s comment that “a sense of positivity was [felt] throughout the building.” Initially expecting only 1,500 compliments, Mr. Wisniewski was surprised to see over 2,700 messages at the end of the week!

The sorting process was painstaking, as hundreds of compliments poured in each day. The school community truly came together as teachers, staff members, and students worked together to cut out the compliment papers, sort them by homeroom or class, and distribute them. Aiding this process were the Peer Leaders, Ms. Mapp, Ms. Potts, Ms. Sebak, Mr. Palczewski, Ms. Grimbilas, and others. The WV TV students also filmed a video of students receiving these compliments, which you can view on their YouTube channel.

Students can definitely expect to see the Google Form again as many wished they had sent more compliments. But, Mr. Wisniewski also encourages the school community to take a moment any day to tell someone how much they mean to you, and how they have helped you. ”Take a moment and tell that person how important they are and the impact they have on you,” he explained, “make the statement today!” It isn’t necessary for compliments to be anonymous; make them personal by speaking to that person face-to-face.