Start With Hello Week Themes and Planning #StartwithHello
Start with Hello Week is a way to promote community and inclusiveness at your school. If you are not familiar with Start with Hello Week is run through the Sandy Hook Promise, a national non-profit organization founded and lead by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Visit the Start with Hello Week page to sign up for free resources including a planning guide.
Below are the events and activities we are planning for Start with Hello Week next week.
Start with Hello Week Daily Theme Days and Activities
Monday (9/23): Promise 2 Start with Hello
- School Spirit Day - Wear school colors!
- Student Council Service Committee will be writing chalk messages on the sidewalks in front of the building and by the bus entrance.
- Mix it Up @ Lunch - Building New Relationships
- Icebreaker for each table
- Lego challenge for each table
- Games, activities, and prizes.
- Resources for teachers:
- What is Mix it Up Day: https://www.tolerance.org/mix-it-up
- Start with Hello Week: https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/startwithhelloweek
- Hello in 70 Languages (Shown on School News Program): bit.ly/70hello
- During lunch students will be invited to contribute to an interactive bulletin board “#WECARE - Reach Out and Help!” by sharing ways they can reach out and help another student.
- Reach Out and Help! Interactive Bulletin Board
- Customize the hashtag on the bulletin board for your school here.
- In the bulletin board I created for my school, I used my school acronym as part of the hashtag.
- We plan to share the student generated tips/suggestions on the closed circuit TVs throughout the school and on social media
- Resources for teachers:
- Wear your #bethekindkid shirt - https://bethekindkid.net
- Student Council Service committee will be putting kindness messages on student lockers and in student bathrooms and staff bathrooms.
- Kindness Sticky Notes - Created and sold by me on TPT
- Student Bathroom Messages - Student Motivating Speech Bubbles - Purchased on TPT
- Staff Bathroom Messages - Teacher & Staff Morale Boosting Speech Bubbles - Purchased on TPT
- Resources for teachers:
- Kindness Boomerang (Shown on School News Program) - 5 min long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU
- Side note this is one of my favorite kindness videos!!!
- Kindness - Orly Wahba TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn9VxUPlC5g&feature=youtu.be
- Share quotes about diversity on the school
- In diversity there is beauty and there is strength - Maya Angelou
- The things that make me different are the things that make me - A. A. Milne
- Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness. - Ola Joseph
Friday (9/27): Promise 2 Connect
Start with Hello Week Theme Week Image
I created this FREE image on Canva to share on the closed circuit TVs at my school and on social media. I shared a version that you can make a copy of and edit to meet your needs. Click on the image to be directed to the Canva website.
Teacher Pay Teacher Items for Start with Hello Week (and Beyond!)
Below are TPT resources I created for Start with Hello Week. Visit my TPT Store to view all my resources.
I will sharing more about how we are celebrating Start with Hello Week at my school in future posts on Instagram and Twitter.
Below are some ideas I saw on Twitter of how others are celebrating Start with Hello Week:
- Take what you need, give what you can in the cafeteria.
- I will be creating a bulletin board for students to take positive messages and give positive messages to students. I will also be making a smaller version for the faculty lounge.
Start with Hello Week Theme Week Image
I created this FREE image on Canva to share on the closed circuit TVs at my school and on social media. I shared a version that you can make a copy of and edit to meet your needs. Click on the image to be directed to the Canva website.
Teacher Pay Teacher Items for Start with Hello Week (and Beyond!)
Below are TPT resources I created for Start with Hello Week. Visit my TPT Store to view all my resources.
Below are some ideas I saw on Twitter of how others are celebrating Start with Hello Week:
Next week is #StartWithHello at Rowland Elementary. Check out all the activities we will be doing. Join us in this prevention program that teaches children how to be more socially inclusive and connected to each other. @sandyhook #StartwithHello #WeAreRUSD @RowlandSchools pic.twitter.com/QOcmkg5Pfx— Rowland Elementary (@RascalPride) September 18, 2019
We pledge to start with hello & create a community of connectedness in MVHS! ☺️👋🏻 @MV_Knights #startwithhello #sandyhookpromise #FORclub #MVTakingPride pic.twitter.com/j9MbvjA55R— Miss Houston (@abigail5houston) September 12, 2019
Campuses have fun activities planned to promote #kindness and inclusion. Check it out and join in the fun! #startwithhelloTISD #FW2 @DrJenniferJones pic.twitter.com/T7xQ7tE0mc— Tyler ISD (@tylerisd) September 18, 2019
Search the hashtag #StartWithHello to get more ideas and see how others are celebrating at their schools.Continue with Start with Hello Week by reaching out to someone and writing them a quick note at lunch today. StuCo will distribute these tomorrow!#startwithhello #CSHSstuco #CelebrateCSHS pic.twitter.com/kNWVItrJPM— CSHS StuCo (@cougar_stuco) September 12, 2019
Do you celebrate Start with Hello Week at your school? Share your ideas and what you are doing in the comment section below.
Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest.
