Blowing Bubbles and Building Kindness
You may have heard your child come home talking about being deliberate and intentional - perhaps even while blowing bubbles. If they lasted that long, some may have brought home the little bubble pots they were given. Were they being taught how to blow bubbles? Not exactly. The idea is that just like you have to be focused and purposeful when blowing a bubble, otherwise it does not work, kindness is something we must also be focused, deliberate and intentional about.
Often, people think kindness just means being nice. However, as a Christian school, we understand that kindness extends beyond that. Kindness is about reflecting God’s love through our actions. It is not a one-off event or a spontaneous feeling. It is a choice we make each day.
When students are explicitly taught, shown and encouraged to practise kindness, they are less likely to engage in behaviours that harm others. Instead, they begin to build respectful relationships that promote empathy, connection and inclusion.
Living Out Respect, Kindness and Resilience
At Northern Christian School, our school values of Respect, Kindness and Resilience are grounded in the truth that every person is made in God’s image and deeply loved by Him. This belief shapes the way we encourage children to treat one another with dignity, compassion and care.
We teach students that showing respect means treating others how we would like to be treated and putting others’ needs before our own, just as God calls us to do. His kindness and compassion are the ultimate example.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
Jesus’ life and sacrificial death show us what true kindness looks like. Because of His love, we can work towards creating a school community where every child feels valued, safe and known.
We also teach students to build resilience by showing kindness to themselves. When children learn to be self-compassionate, especially when they make mistakes, they are better equipped to bounce back and persevere.
Kindness at Play: ‘You Can Sit with Me’
Kindness is more than a value on paper. Our hope is that it shapes our school culture. One initiative supporting this is our ‘You Can Sit with Me’ program. Students from each year level, nominated by their teachers as Ambassadors, wear identifiable badges and invite anyone feeling lonely or unsure to join in their play. It is a small but powerful gesture that reminds students they are never alone.
Celebrating Kindness: Shining Lights and SPARKS
Through our Shining Lights program, as you may know, we celebrate students who live out our school values. Staff give out SPARKs tokens (Students Practising Acts of Respect, Resilience and Kindness) when they see these
values in action. Once students collect a certain number of SPARKs, they
receive a barista-made hot chocolate as a small treat. But it is not about the
reward. It is about reinforcing and celebrating the character we want to see.
Kindness is also explicitly taught as part of our Building Positive Behaviour and Culture framework. Whether it is through role-plays, stories, class discussions or prayer, we explore what it means to practise kindness as followers of Jesus.
At Northern Christian School:
We show kindness in the way we speak to others
We show kindness in the way we listen
We show kindness in how we treat one another and ourselves
We show kindness in how we care for our school grounds and shared spaces
Our goal is not just to talk about kindness but to live it out together.
Kindness Is Not Just for One Day
Each year around World Kindness Day, students remind us that kindness is not a one-day event. “We are meant to be kind every day,” one student told me, “because God is kind to us every day.” And they are absolutely right.
Throughout our school, you will see posters reminding everyone to ‘Be Deliberate and Be Intentional’. One class edited a poster of a popular phrase that said ‘Random Acts of Kindness’ by crossing out the word ‘Random’ and replacing it with ‘Deliberate and Intentional’.
Choosing Kindness, Reflecting Christ
We want students to practise kindness, not just to follow rules, but because of their love for Jesus. Some of our classes have the daily habit of praying, “God, who can I be kind to today?” This simple rhythm is forming big hearts.
Perhaps this is something your family could try at home, building daily rhythms of kindness rooted in prayer in response to God’s immense kindness in Jesus to you.
We thank God for His abundant kindness to us. We pray that Northern Christian School will continue to be a place where kindness is modelled, taught and lived, because of the kindness God has shown us in Jesus.
Bethany Armstrong - Principal
