Viral Facebook Photo Inspires Message of Kindness at Shore
On Tuesday, September 16, Head of Upper School and Assistant Head of School Ben Kennedy joined Dean of Students Sean Melia on stage in the Trustey Family Theatre to share positive messages about kindness and community with students at the first Upper School Meeting of the year.
With the 2016-17 school year at Shore off to its customarily rapid start—trips and sports tryouts adding to orientations and a range of new projects to kick off in every subject—Kennedy began his remarks by emphasizing the importance of pausing in our busy lives to care for one another.
With the 2016-17 school year at Shore off to its customarily rapid start—trips and sports tryouts adding to orientations and a range of new projects to kick off in every subject—Kennedy began his remarks by emphasizing the importance of pausing in our busy lives to care for one another.
"It can be easy for all of us at Shore to move so quickly that we lose sight of the big picture. We forget that we are members of something larger than ourselves. We forget that our school is bigger than our own collection of friends, our advisee group, our classes, our grade. This meeting time each week is designed to help us keep perspective, and to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from one another. This is our time to hit the pause button in our busy lives."
Melia then took the stage with his reflection on the viral Facebook photo of a Florida student being joined at his lunch table by a local football hero. In the famous photo, a sixth grader named Bo Paske is sitting with a star Florida State football player named Travis Rudolph. His team had visited Bo’s school that day; they were in the lunchroom, and Rudolph noticed Bo sitting all by himself.
"Bo has autism," Melia explained, "and so there are times when kids alienate him a little. But Travis walked right over, sat down, and had lunch with Bo. Someone took this picture and sent it along to Bo’s mother, and she was so happy. She shared the photo and the story on Facebook, and the whole think went viral and ended up on a lot of television news stations."
After that day, Bo and Travis struck up a friendship: Bo was invited to be on the sidelines of the Florida State-Ole Miss game, which they won. Travis also went back to the school a second time to give Bo a Florida State jersey.
Melia observed:
"In thinking about our school, where you are given the option to sit with whoever you would like to sit with at lunch, think about what Travis did. Think about Bo. Think about asking someone to sit with you, or going out of your way to sit with someone you don’t always sit with. It might create a new friendship. It might make somebody’s day. And it might not make just that one person’s day; it might make their parents’ day, too.
"That’s another thing that we forget sometimes: when you do something nice for somebody, the ripple effects of your action affect more than that one person. That person might go home and tell a story, and that story could make someone else’s day.
"So think about Travis, think about Bo throughout the school year. If you see someone who looks a little lonely, maybe just standing by themselves at recess, ask them to play. Its such a simple thing to do, but it can go a really long way in building new friendships and maybe even making someone’s day, or even their year. This year, let’s make our community a better place."
Kennedy returned to the stage with closing thoughts to wrap up the meeting:
"Nothing matters more to this community than how we take care of one another. Sitting with someone who is alone at lunch; stopping to help pick up a locker or binder or book bag that has exploded in the hallway (all of us have seen this happen); standing up and stepping in when a classmate does or says something that is unkind (because all of us do and say unkind things at various times in the school year)—these are the things that we as a community care about.
"I ask you today to remember to take care of one another, and be mindful of the person just a few feet away from you who might need your kindness."
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Melia saw a lesson about compassion in a viral Facebook photo.
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In the photo, Florida State football player Travis Rudolph has lunch with Bo Paske.
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Kennedy emphasized the importance of caring for all members of the school community.
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Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
The School admits qualified students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law, and extends to them all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its admissions, scholarships, and loans, and its educational, athletic, and other programs.