The week before April vacation, Marlborough High School students were excited about the upcoming break. But they were also excited about something else. The week of April 11-15 was Kindness Week at MHS, hosted by the MHS Student Council. “Students were talking during one of our meetings, and they really wanted to change the culture around the school,” said Ms. Wheeler, StuCo advisor. Recently, Student Council members attended a leadership conference in Hyannis where they listened to leadership consultant Houston Kraft speak about love and kindness. StuCo members felt that Kraft’s message was one they wanted to bring back to MHS, and developed Kindness Week as a means of spreading that message. The week prior to Kindness Week, StuCo members visited homerooms and showed students a video produced by Kraft called “Perspectacles”. (To watch the video, click on the link below.) The video follows an insensitive teen as he walks throughout his high school and insults or is rude to everyone he passes. That is, until he finds the “Perspectacles”. When the student puts them on, he is able to see what others are going through and how they view themselves. As he passes one girl for example, he learns that her father passed away. With the help of the “perspectacles”, he develops an attitude of kindness and learns the importance of considering another’s point of view. After showing students this video, StuCo members explained the events and the purpose of Kindness Week. They stressed that “you never know what somebody’s going through. Giving them a compliment or helping them or saying hi can completely change their day.”
The next week was Kindness Week. On Monday, students walking in the door received lollipops from smiling Stuco members with positive sayings attached. Tuesday was “Be Kind, Be Bright” day. Everyone, even the administrators, wore neon or bright clothing. Wednesday was Random Act of Kindness Day, Thursday was Appreciation Day, and Friday was MHS Spirit Day and High-Five Friday. By the end of the week, the lockers and hallways were covered with quotes about kindness, and many students had swapped cookies and candy. Some students thought the week was cheesy, but others thought it was about time. Many students said, “we shouldn’t be dedicating one week to kindness, it should be every week.” And for Stuco, that was the point. “Perspectacles” Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-vHSXo23TE By: Jennie O’Leary -Staff Writer Photos: Courtney Wheeler, StuCo Advisor On March 25, seven students went to the library to meet with author Ozge Samanci to discuss her memoir Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey. There was no woman wearing a visitor’s tag, however. Instead, Samanci answered the students’ questions over Skype from her home in Chicago. This opportunity was arranged by MHS School Librarian Alyson Cox, who originally discovered Samanci’s memoir while reading on a snow day. “I knew reading it that students would really identify with this book,” Cox said. She started sharing the book’s trailer with students and classes visiting the LMC. Soon, a group of about ten students was reading the book.
Samanci grew up in Turkey during the 1980s and 1990s. In her memoir, Samanci reveals how she followed her dream of becoming an artist and a writer against the wishes of her parents and the restrictive expectations of Turkish society. An artsy, creative, and outspoken girl, she did not fit into a culture where women were expected to live in subservience to men. In Turkey, teenagers took intelligence tests that determined whether or not they qualified for college and placed them on career tracks based on their scores. Samanci’s test results placed her on a science and math track, and she was expected to become a teacher or an engineer. But she knew in her heart she could never be happy doing either of those things. Samanci went to college to become an artist and now teaches art at a college in Chicago. Samanci tells her story in the form of a graphic novel, which made it a quick read for the students in the MHS book group. Her comedic, honest style of writing adds a touch of humor to what she told MHS students was a painful topic to write about. She told the students over Skype that she was afraid of two things while writing the memoir. She painted her family as very harsh, unsupportive and overbearing, and was afraid of how they would react the book. She was also afraid of how other Turks would treat her family once the book was out, for now other Turks would know her family had a dissenting, disappointing daughter. Cox said the students strongly identified with Samanci’s experience, and asked her many questions about how she dealt with wanting something completely different than what her parents wanted for her. Samanci told students the best thing to do was to “follow your hearts”, and everything will eventually come together. She also told them they can blend their interests: “you don’t just have to pick one,” she said. Cox was thrilled about the event. “Ozge was a great author to start out with. She was so funny, warm and friendly. She was inspiring. And the kids really want to do this again!” Cox has already confirmed a second Skype call with Lance Rubin, author of Denton Little’s Death Date. The book takes place in a world where every child knows his death date from the day he is born. Denton Little’s death date is tomorrow: the day of the prom. “It’s filled with tons of dark humor,” Cox says. Students interested in the book group can speak to Mrs. Cox in the LMC. By: Jennie O’Leary Staff Writer Photo credit of Ms. Cox
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June 2019
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