3 months ago
9
Bedecked in bowties, pearls and glasses, these five and six-year-old pupils celebrated 100 days of prep with a lesson in life from a local centenarian.
The tradition, to mark the first 100 days of their first year of learning, sees children dress as an elderly person – who they imagine themselves to be in a century from now.
Gwen at Brighton Beach Primary School with six-year-old preppies Aston, Pia, Billy and Florence.Credit: Wayne Taylor
But Brighton Beach Primary School’s prep students have gone one step further than costumes - they are performing 100 acts of kindness for the week.
And as part of the initiative they spoke to Gwen, a Brighton local about to celebrate her 100th birthday.
Gwen shared advice with the youngsters, including explaining that people get sad when others aren’t kind to them.
“When you make someone happy, you feel better yourself,” she told the students, adding if someone was alone, smiling at them would make them feel better.
The preps also spoke to Gwen about what school was like a century ago, how kindness shaped her childhood and trying to imagine what school might look like in another 100 years.
She urged the group to listen to their teacher so they didn’t miss out on learning.
Principal Kim Ancrum said the experience was aimed at building empathy, gratitude and mindfulness for the youngsters.
“Whilst we’re celebrating these beautiful preppies being 100 days wiser, we also wanted to take the opportunity to acknowledge all the people around them who supported them,” she said.
This week the students have picked up litter on school grounds, written thank you notes to their teachers and support staff, created a mural and made bookmarks for the local library.
Gwen shares with the students what school looked like when she attended. Credit: Wayne Taylor
The school’s principal said it was an eye-opening experience for the kids, who also enjoyed spending time with the senior citizen.
“One of the other things Gwen talked about, which blew our children’s minds, was she’s never stopped learning, and she really encouraged them to continue to learn too,” Ancrum said.
It is the first time the school has run the acts of kindness activities for its students, but the principal hopes it will become an annual tradition alongside the dress-ups.
Ancrum said she also enjoyed seeing how other students have been inspired to participate in acts of kindness, and wanted to “pay it forward”.
The children were paired with Year 5 buddies, and made them gifts to thank them.
“Our Year 5s are now wanting to do an act of kindness, and the challenge is out there for our whole community to join in,” she said.
“We’re really proud of our kiddies for taking on board that idea of they can make someone else’s day better.”
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