RIVERTON, Utah — An elementary school in Riverton is teaching kids to be kind in a new way, this year with music.
It's called "Rocking and Rolling with Kindness", a new theme this year for Midas Creek Elementary School.
"So then more people can have friends," said sixth grader Kiptyn Holmes. "And other people don't go home sad."
Activities and assemblies for students throughout the year revolve around spreading kindness and building a habit out of it.
To start the year the school hosted a dance party where the superintendent played as the DJ during recess.
"Just like reading and math, we teach those skills, we teach kids how to be kind," said Midas Creek Elementary principal Megan Cox.
According to Cox, the school chooses a new theme every year in a different way that the students can understand and get behind.
"The world can be hard, and school can be hard and sometimes it's scary making new friends," said Cox. "But if we have our whole school looking out for one another, it's easier."
Coming out of the pandemic, the school says teaching kindness is more important now than ever before.
"Because of the pandemic, everybody took a break from school and nobody had like that practice of being kind unless they have a sibling," said sixth grader Ella Snow. "So everybody just needs to practice that again."
According to Kaila Anderson, the students have felt "unsure" and "unstable" the last couple of years, and bringing the event back into full swing will help encourage everyone.
"There's a community feeling and vibe, then the kids are able to recognize each other as important and valuable," said Anderson.
