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Date: 12/7/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – Mountain View Elementary School won third place in the national Start with Hello Week contest, an initiative from Sandy Hook Promise, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
“Start with Hello Week focuses on empowering students to create a more connected school community for everyone, an important component of violence prevention,” said Nicole Hockley. She is the co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and the mother of Dylan Hockley, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. “If we take proactive steps, we can save countless lives. School shootings are preventable when we teach our kids to look out for one another and take action to help.”
Mountain View school psychologist Amy Pelzek told Reminder Publishing, “We’ve done [Start with Hello Week] for several years. It’s been a really great program.”
The contest winners were chosen based on the level of student leadership and involvement, program sustainability and the breadth and depth of the activities that students submitted.
“We had a dedicated committee – teachers, administration staff,” who came up with ideas for the contest, Pelzek said, “but we couldn’t have done it without the classroom teachers going all in.” Sandy Hook Promise also provided ideas for some activities.
“I am so grateful for and proud of the awesome staff and students at Mountain View,” said Principal Elaine Santaniello. “Given that this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, this work is more important than ever! I’d especially like to shout out to the staff who volunteered to plan our activities – [Norma] Campbell, Mrs. Pelzek, [Valentina] Pioggia, [Alexandra] Lennon, [Amanda] Emet, [Angela] Shea, [Ann Marie] Mowry, [Jennifer] Creelman and [Therese] DeSaulnier.”
Santaniello continued, “At Mountain View, we’ve worked really hard to build a happy, supportive, safe environment for everyone and I think our winning video entry, created by Mrs. Pelzek, shows that Mountain View is a great place to be.”
The contest video entry highlighted teachers greeting students daily, as well as projects such as “wings of kindness,” in which students wrote ways to be kind on paper “feathers,” which were fashioned into wings.
Another activity that Pelzek said students found challenging was the “Mix It Up Day.” Students were assigned to sit at a random lunch table and given conversation prompts to foster interactions with people with whom they do not normally socialize. Pelzek said it was a little awkward at first, but students reported finding things in common and told her, “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
Pelzek said these activities help build a sense of connection and empathy. “Empathy is extremely important. When we understand why someone does or says something, we can react appropriately,” she said.
During the closure of schools due to the coronavirus pandemic, students spent more time their homes and away from friends and family, Pelzek said. Because of that, students had to readjust to being a part of a social group. Pelzek said third grade students had never had lunch in the cafeteria, surrounded by their peers. That behavior had to be taught, she said.
Pelzek said she believes the students have internalized the lessons learned through Start with Hello. While it is difficult to make a direct correlation, she said, “Anecdotally, we’ve seen a difference.” Students have continued to make a point of greeting teachers and fellow students every day and to saying goodbye when they leave.
Those lessons are reinforced throughout the year through the school’s use of Second Step, a social-emotional learning curriculum.
Teachers check in with students during a morning meetings and lessons about kindness and well-being are woven into other subjects throughout the day.
As the third-place winner, Mountain View School will receive a $500 prize, an awards certificate and recognition on Sandy Hook Promise’s website and social media channels.
To see the video submitted by Mountain View School, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua3banMzuIA.
To learn more about Sandy Hook Promise, visit https://www.sandyhookpromise.org.