FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 880 S. Lemon Avenue
February 10, 2016 Walnut, CA 91789
Contact:
Kelli Gile, Office of Community Resources
(909) 595-1261 ext. 31204
Day of Kindness
Quail Summit students deliver messages of love to local seniors
DIAMOND BAR, CA—Quail Summit Elementary students delivered hundreds of handmade valentines to Diamond Bar senior citizens on February 9.
About 25 students, representing every class on campus, traveled by bus to the meeting at the Diamond Bar Center.
The children carried a total of 649 simple messages of kindness, one from every student on campus.
“I think it will make them feel really happy and valued,” shared 4th grader Violet Kieta before the children began mingling from table to table while passing out the Valentine’s Day gifts.
Many of the pink and red heart-shaped cards included read “Be Mine,” “You are Very Special,” and “Have a Great Valentine’s Day” and included sweet personal notes and artwork from the children.
The seniors were thrilled to receive the love messages.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” exclaimed Marjorie Fair. “I’ll put the valentines on my refrigerator!”
“They’ve been so good to us again this year!” said another senior admiring his new cards.
The young visitors are members of the Character Crew leadership group. Elementary learning specialist Leann Legind and teachers Kathy McLean and Pam Leslie work with students during school and community service activities that promote good character.
This year, Leslie’s fifth grade class volunteered to make a batch of cookies, including chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, Snickerdoodles, and s’mores, as a gift for the seniors.
“The kids brought in recipes and got a chance to practice math skills while calculating measurements during the baking session,” Leslie explained.
The Diamond Bar Senior Citizen’s Club provides generous support to the school each year, funding recent activities including an author visit, tree dedication, mix-it-up day, and blanket donations for foster children.
The Valentine’s Day cards were the perfect way for students to show their appreciation.
“Thank you for being so kind and generous to us and being amazing role models,” Legind said. “You have impacted us in so many ways, and because of you we were able to impact others.”
“It was special seeing all the senior citizens smile!” said 5th grader Janiyah Hunsaker.
Quail Summit continued spreading a message of kindness and love during an 11 a.m. assembly marking the beginning of a new event.
Mr. John’s Day of Kindness will now be held each year in honor of the school’s beloved custodian John Bisaha, who passed away last fall.
Bisaha worked at Quail Summit for 25 years and made lasting connections with students, staff, and parents.
“He left ripples of kindness on our campus and we want to remember him,” Principal Jeanette Koh said.
“To honor Mr. John, we’ll always have a day in February, near his birthday, as a day of kindness.”
Several family members were on hand for the unveiling of a portrait created by gifted artist and former parent, Margot Bloom.
The school will display acts of kindness along with the painting inscribed “The Heart of Quail Summit.”
“Mr. John exemplified that every day,” Koh added.
The student body demonstrated compassion on its first official day of kindness by collecting five boxes of donations for furry friends at the Inland Valley Humane Society.
Character Crew members also created cat toys from socks, batting, and cat nip, and painted “You are Paw-Some” and “Adopt Me!” messages on dog bandanas to help touch the heart of someone wanting to adopt a new pet.
“We encourage our students to spread kindness every single day,” Koh said.
Shown:
Quail Summit Elementary students Anushka Rane and Valerie Wu deliver early Valentine’s Day wishes to the Diamond Bar Senior Citizen’s Club on February 9. Shown with Olga Esquivel.
Quail Summit Elementary student Natalie Banks delivers early Valentine’s Day wishes to Diamond Bar seniors on February 9.
Quail Summit 1st grader Ryan Wiggins delivers a valentine to Maria Elena Garcia at the Diamond Bar Center.
Kindergartner Arvin Amwar delivered handmade valentines to smiling seniors at the Diamond Bar Center on February 9.
Quail Summit fifth grader Janiyah Hunsaker passes out valentines at the Diamond Bar Center.
Diamond Bar seniors receive Valentine’s Day cards from Quail Summit students.
The family of late custodian John Bisaha unveiled a portrait marking Mr. John’s Day of Kindness.
Quail Summit students collected donations for the Inland Valley Humane Society to mark a day of kindness.