Valley View Schools to Launch “Pay It Forward 365”

Acts of kindness will be visible everywhere starting the week of Feb. 4 as students throughout Valley View School District 365U launch “Pay It Forward 365.”

Designed as a way to help students and staff focus on positive interactions throughout their daily lives, “Pay It Forward 365” is modeled after a national campaign based on the Kevin Spacey movie “Pay it Forward” about a teacher who inspires a student to complete acts of kindness to three people. Those three people pay back that act of Kindness with three more acts of kindness each. And the kindness spreads like wildfire.

Specifically during the week of Feb. 4, but also extending throughout the remainder of the school year, “Pay It Forward 365” will feature activities and lessons in each school that will motivate students to consistently perform acts of kindness.

“Our goal for February is to have students feel the power of being the recipient and giver of good deeds,” said Michele Bochnak, who heads up VVSD’s anti-bullying task force. “Hopefully the good feeling that kindness brings will change attitudes in our school and limit bullying behaviors.”

Although plans in most schools are still being developed, one VVSD middle school hopes to hold a staff versus student flag football game and will also conduct a canned food drive. A VVSD elementary school will host the shooting of a short film, created by a Bolingbrook High School graduate, on the power of respect.  

Other events planned include decorating paper bricks to help build a kinder school building, signing kindness pledges and filling up buckets with nice things to say about fellow students.

“We’re hoping this will spill over into the community too, with our students performing acts of kindness everywhere,” Bochnak said.

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