Attitude of Gratitude is contagious at Bay Village Schools

Westerly fourth-graders in Mrs. Woodburn's class share why they are grateful during a "circle of gratitude" time.

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Reflecting upon the things one is thankful for is said to increase optimism, joy and happiness.

Staff and students in the Bay Village Schools are finding that gratitude also goes further than benefiting oneself. Gratitude includes expressing appreciation to others, as well as “paying it forward” to spread the kindness around.

Nikki Spriggs, the treasurer at Bay Village Schools, incorporated an Attitude of Gratitude month during November for school staff through the district’s Wellness Committee.

“It is such a positive activity, and I knew our staff members would welcome it,” she said. Employees tracked 30 gratitude acts on a calendar. The acts ranged from thanking a colleague to taking back someone’s shopping cart – many days to contemplate reasons for gratitude, and many days to “pay it forward.”

“We learned that staff members really enjoyed this,” Mrs. Spriggs said. “I hope it added to an environment of kindness and thankfulness in our buildings, as well as to a sense of happiness for those who participated.”

Fourth-graders at Westerly Elementary have been working all year on their Attitude of Gratitude Books. Once a week or so, they think about something in their lives for which they are grateful and create a description and illustration page for it in their book.

“We believe that young people are often accused of being self-centered, but have been given little opportunity to care about others,” said teacher Barb Woodburn of herself and co-teacher, Mary Jo Mahall. “We feel that is our responsibility to provide the opportunity to serve. We see gratitude as the key ingredient in guiding students toward that goal.” The teachers share their own examples each morning, modeling the kinds of things the children might consider.

Those things evolve through the year from the concrete (for items like a toy), to the more reflective (the efforts of others like the school custodian), to the more abstract (like living in a free country). The students, with the support of Bay Village Kiwanis and Bethesda-on-the-Bay Lutheran Church, also make and deliver fuzzy, warm fleece blankets to children less fortunate.

Helping others is a long tradition in the Bay Village Schools. There are literally dozens of service projects that take place throughout the school year. But the newly popular habit of purposefully contemplating what we are thankful for is just beginning to spread beyond traditional celebrations, like Thanksgiving and Veterans Day, at school.

“Our fourth-graders will be able to look back on all they were grateful for during their entire fourth-grade year with these books they made,” said Mrs. Woodburn.  

Sounds like something we could all look forward to doing if we start our own Attitude of Gratitude books in the new year!