SUBANG JAYA: The #StandTogether National Kindness Week may have come to an end, but the Selangor Princess hopes that the spirit of kindness and initiative shown by students and teachers nationwide will go on all year round.
“It’s fantastic to see students take a stand to make their schools kinder,” said Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, who had been supporting the campaign since its debut last year.
“They are the ones who have the power to make and be that change. Being a role model to everyone is something that can start at a young age,” she said at SMK USJ12, which she visited as part of the campaign.
Over the past week, SMK USJ12’s students had been collecting heart-warming messages in a Kindness Box, which they displayed on a Kindness Board. They also collected nominations for Hero Project, which honoured students and teachers who have inspired others.
The 10 heroes were awarded prizes at a special school assembly yesterday.
“I cried when I read the notes describing why I was nominated,” said teacher Tan May Peng.
“I am just doing my job. But this award reminds me why I chose this career, and will motivate me to continue doing my very best,” she added.
Tengku Zatashah’s visit was a reward for SMK USJ12’s winning entry in the #StandTogether kindness competition. The rewards included a RM1,000 grant to carry out those projects, along with a celebrity visit.
“I was bullied in primary school, and was an outcast until I came to this school and made real friends,” said SMK USJ12’s #StandTogether Squad leader Jessie Gan, 17.
“I don’t want any of my schoolmates to feel the way I felt back then – and that’s how the Kindness Board and Hero Project ideas came about.”
National Kindness Week, which began on April 2, saw over 620 schools participating in kindness activities to end school violence and bullying.
The schools were given Kindness Week manuals, which included classroom activities, games and schoolwide initiatives that would help curb bullying.
“With bullying on the rise, it was wonderful to see R.AGE, Unicef, the Education Ministry and SP Setia collaborate to make this campaign a success,” said the ministry’s education planning and research division assistant director Fakhriyyah Muhardi, who also attended the event.
*The National Kindness Week campaign will culminate in a #StandTogether Carnival on April 15 at Setia City Convention Centre. For more information, log on to fb.com/StandTogetherMY.