MARLEY MIDDLE, OLD MILL MIDDLE NORTH SHARE INAUGURAL KINDNESS CUP

When it comes to kindness, two county middle schools are the cream of the crop.

Marley Middle School and Old Mill Middle School North each earned a share of the inaugural Kindness Cup, a proactive and positive bullying prevention initiative created to improve school climate and increase student engagement.

Building on the momentum of October’s Unity Day, the Kindness Cup Challenge urged students at every county middle school to complete intentional acts of kindness in their schools. Student acts of kindness were recognized by adults in the school and posted on a bulletin board, with the  first school to reach 500 acts of kindness to be declared the winner.

Marley Middle School and Old Mill Middle North hit the mark on the same day. Student acts of kindness included consoling a peer in need of support, going above and beyond to help keep the cafeteria clean, expressing encouraging words to a teacher, and helping to resolve a conflict between other students.

“Middle school students across our county should be commended for the way in which they embraced this challenge,” Superintendent George Arlotto said. “Small, routine acts of kindness, compassion, and caring make a huge difference in the lives of people across our county.”

Marley and Old Mill North each received a Kindness Cup, which will be on display in the respective schools until next spring.