HALB Middle School’s community of kindness

During the Yom Tov season in October, HALB’s middle school participated in a yom iyun that emphasized the ways in which Jewish values promote kindness, community, and unity. They learned about the power of Klal Yisrael when they come together as a whole. They concretized these ideas by participating in an activity in which they assembled various individual tiles into a beautiful mosaic. 

To further advance these ideas and in connection with Bullying Prevention Month in October, HALB students in grades 6 through8 were required to read Wonder by R.J. Palacio over the chagim. The book is an engaging story of a child with a facial deformity who enters a mainstream school in the fifth grade, and how this impacts all the people with whom he interacts.

Last Wednesday, HALB’s 6th-8th grade students participated in a meaningful and memorable experience, meeting in groups from across the grades to discuss important themes emerging from Wonder. In doing so, they grappled with issues relating to differences and inclusiveness, cliques and social circles, and bullying and developing a community of kindness.  

A special program was also conducted in the 5th grade, where students read aloud from two books that celebrate inclusiveness and kindness, One by Kathryn Otoshi and Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. Students contemplated the “big ideas” of these touchstone texts, both orally and in writing. The culminating activity, in which students created “graffiti posters” related to the themes of the day, demonstrated the children’s remarkable perception and sensitivity.

To create new relationships, HALB has developed its “big brother/sister little brother/ sister” programming, where each 5th grader is paired with a 7th grader and each 6th graders is paired with an 8thgrader. This program promotes achdut and friendliness throughout the middle school. To start off the program, the boys “speedfriended” with each other. The girls kicked off the program with a game in which each student received half of a nursery rhyme and had to find their match. The partners constructed fruit skewers together, demonstrating that a whole can be made of various different parts.

Upcoming events include achdut shabbaton.