#WonderWednesday: The Dales Dazzle At New York Schools

Photo Credit for all images; Debra Dale

South Country School in Bay Shore, Long Island recently played host to Kristine and Jeremy Dale. The school dedicated a whole week to kindness. Kristine and Jeremy gave three assemblies in the South Country School classrooms. Students and staff were so supported, taking up the charge to encourage everyone to #ChooseKind after reading the book Wonder. 

Before the Dales arrived, the students and teachers decorated the hallways with choose kind messages. Outside the school there were banners and signs encouraging the community to choose kind, too. Jeremy spoke at three different assemblies in the school sharing his story about being born with Goldenhar syndrome. He shared with the students how to stay positive and be accepting of all kind of differences. At the end, Jeremy allowed time for questions and answers. He also let some of the students see his ear and eye prosthetics, as he cracked good natured jokes to keep everyone at ease. He even had the opportunity to sign some of the kids Wonder books, too. 

During Jeremy’s three assemblies, all the kids of South Country School wore choose kind t-shirt donated and created by one of the parents. The staff organized a kindness-themed field day, including a color run. 

The response to the ChooseKind message was incredible at this school. Teachers wore capes that spelled out Kind, the students organized themselves in formation to spell out the word “Kind” outside during the fourth and fifth grade field days. Clearly, Jeremy had a positive impact on the students and teachers at this school. 

The teachers were very impressed with everything they were able to teach the students in the classroom and on the fields. Teacher, Debra Dale, and Jeremy’s cousin, said of the experience on Facebook, “Thank you to everyone who helped make our Choose Kindness Day what it was. Certainly an all time high in my professional career!!! It was an uplifting day that left many colleagues with tears in their eyes and inspired beyond the classroom. As teachers, we are so lucky to have young minds and hearts to shape and mold. As I quoted yesterday...

“The best way to measure how much you’ve grown isn’t by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average--though those things are important, to be sure. It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.” ~R. J. Palacio, Wonder

South Country’s students and staff exceeded my every expectation and I’m truly touched with kindness.”

Wow! Many thanks to the Dale family for all that they do. Read more about this exciting school visit tomorrow in our #ThankfulThursday blog post, when we share the donations this school made to CCA through fundraising.