Brookside Primary marks Random Acts of Kindness Week

February 28, 2026 | By Claire Pomer | Correspondent

During Random Acts of Kindness Week recently, Brookside Primary School students and staff form a heart for a school drone photo shot by Waterbury Roundabout photographer Gordon Miller

Before leaving for February school break, Brookside Primary School celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week where students created art to send into the community, wrote notes to appreciate those around them, and gathered for a special school photo – all while honoring the importance of kindness.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, based in Denver, Colorado, is a nonprofit focused on spreading kindness in schools, workplaces and communities. It holds a national Random Acts of Kindness Week each February, between Valentine’s Day and Feb. 20. 

“We wanted to broaden kindness around Valentine’s Day by doing a little bit more than exchanging Valentines,” said Brookside Co-Principal Sarah Schoolcraft. “It’s called Random Acts of Kindness Week, but it feels very highly structured. The structure needs to be in place to get people thinking, ‘Oh, how might I be kind?’ It lays the groundwork for future spontaneous acts of kindness.” 

While the school’s motto is “be safe, be respectful, and be responsible,” the notion of kindness is an unofficial fourth tenet. And although Kindness Week takes some planning, Schoolcraft said it’s worth the effort, calling it “something that really fills my bucket… and there’s lots to draw from with the national organization.”

This year’s Kindness Week took place during the week before the district’s February break. The week leading up to vacation is typically reserved for the school’s Spirit Week—to boost morale during an otherwise slow week—and each day has a unique, wacky dress theme such as Creative Hair Day and Inside Out and Backwards Day (yes, everyone is encouraged to wear their clothes inside out or backwards, or both). 

This year, school counselor Kately Mosher found several ways to involve fourth graders, the school’s oldest students. She reached out to the fourth-grade teachers with several leadership opportunities to which students could be nominated. “We want to empower them to be the role models they are,” Mosher said. 

Fourth graders sometimes experience fatigue, not unlike senioritis, after spending so many years in the same place, and “sometimes, it can feel a little stagnant for them,” she explained.

Monday’s theme was Creative Hair Day and the kindness activity was decorating paper coffee sleeves with sweet pictures and words of affirmation to send to Black Cap Coffee & Bakery. 

“What do you think someone would want to see when they sip their coffee or hot cocoa?” Mosher prompted the students. A table was set up inside the school lobby where students could decorate the coffee sleeves throughout the school day. At the end of the day, Mosher and a group of students delivered the coffee sleeves to Black Cap. The handmade coffee sleeves can be found on the pickup counter. 

Last year, Brookside students created a community art project to send to the recently opened Waterbury Family Shelter at the former Vermont National Guard armory. Schoolcraft delivered the project herself, but she wanted more student involvement this year. The Black Cap project did just that this year with the cooperation of cafe staff who were “really excited to partner,” Schoolcraft said. 

She and Mosher emphasized the importance of extending their celebration into the community, creating more connections with the school. 

Tuesday of Kindness Week was Comfy Cozy Clothes Day when students created watercolor hearts as part of a mural sent to the Waterbury Public Library. Students painted squares with hearts—some accompanied with messages—and the squares were arranged to spell “BPS” with a heart at the end. Mosher and another group of fourth graders delivered the mural to the library on Thursday. 

Wednesday was Inside Out or Backwards Day for the theme and students wrote or drew thank-you messages to someone in their community. These were delivered to their intended recipients personally. 

The photo shoot took place after a morning fire drill. Photo by Gordon Miller

Thursday’s theme was Wear One Color Day and the kindness activity had students stand to be the letter “I” in the word “Kind” painted on a paper mural in the school lobby where they posed for photos. Sporting all sorts of accessories, like comically large heart glasses and fake mustaches, students posed solo and with their friends. After a morning fire drill, students gathered on the school’s soccer field in the shape of a heart for a drone photo by Waterbury Roundabout photographer Gordon Miller.

Photo by Claire Pomer

Friday’s theme was Blue and Gold Day for Brookside’s school colors and students reflected on their own kindness by writing down one kind act they performed over the week. The slips of paper were brought together to create a paper chain of kindness. 

Meanwhile, throughout the week, a group of fourth-graders conducted interviews with students, asking questions about kindness and the school. Students Mollie Deane, Sawyer LaRocca and Beck Lea, who are each in different classes, visited classrooms and propped an iPad up in the hallway to record themselves asking several questions, such as: Why do you love Brookside? Why is it important to be kind? What are some ways that you can be kind? What is something good that has happened to you this week?

The students pieced together the footage, along with some photos of students practicing kindness throughout the week, to create a video that they will share at an all-school assembly after break. 

In the future, Schoolcraft said she hopes she and Co-Principal Chris Neville can create more student leadership opportunities like this project, especially with fourth graders to “plant more seeds” of kindness.

Claire Pomer is a senior from Waterbury at Harwood Union High School.