Choose to Be Nice

Funded Dec 8, 2016

This short note is thank you all so very much for the generous donations that allowed our school to get the books needed for our "Choose To Be Nice" Initiative. The books that we were able to purchase with those generous donations were added to the Mary E. Baker School Library. A "Choose to Be Nice" sticker was added to the cover of every book so that whenever one was checked out the student or teacher would know the books was part of the initiative. The books are available to all teachers and students. When the books are in the library they are placed on a special "Choose to Be Nice" display. With the display is a short note explaining how we were able to purchase the books.

One way these books are being used in the school is by the Mary E. Baker health teacher, Mrs. Gentile. As she goes over every aspect of the "Choose to be Nice" initiative she chooses one of the books that goes with the characteristics of the initiative. From teaching about kindness with "Kindness is Cooler, Mr. Ruler" to teaching about acceptance with "The Crayon Box that Talked", each book we chose goes with one of the seven characteristics. As the characteristics are taught students are urged to apply them to their day in school. Random acts of kindness, being accepting of new classmates and working together as a team to make our school a better place.

The donations themselves have helped us begin the lessons of the initiative. When the books arrived at the school I put together a lesson and display and explained to every class where the books came from. The lesson was started with: because Mrs. Obeniski (the first donor for our project and our former librarian), Frederick Berry with a matching donation from the Donors Choose Community, Dry Climate Studios, and Mr. Chesterton Knight "Chose to be Nice" we were able to purchase twenty seven books .

The students here at the Mary E Baker School are most impressed and appreciative of the generosity and kindness you all have shown. Your acts of kindness went so well with the Choose to Be Nice theme we started in December. It started with our Kindness Tree and continues still with the books they will have to read for many years to come. Thank you all again for your generous donations, for making it possible for us to get our books.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Berry