Danes Hill School celebrates kindness

In celebration of World Kindness Day and Anti-Bullying Week, Danes Hill School in Oxshott, Surrey took part in the Kindness Rocks Project. The project is a global kindness initiative with a simple purpose; to cultivate connections within communities and lift others up through simple acts of kindness.

The Prep School pupils created colourful rocks with uplifting and positive messages, such as ‘love yourself’, ‘smile’, ‘believe in yourself’ and ‘be kind, be helpful, be you’. A former Danes Hill pupil who is also the current Miss Junior Teen Great Britain 2023, visited the school at the beginning of this term and gave an Assembly on ‘Kindness’. In a thought-provoking Assembly on the importance of being kind, pupils were introduced to the idea of being a Raktivist, a random acts of kindness activist. The guest speaker shared her ideas of acts of kindness and the children were introduced to the Kindness Rocks project.

The Kindness Rocks Project was founded by Megan Murphy. Megan lost her parents at a young age and her journey through grief led her to a moment on the beach. With a sharpie in hand, Megan wrote an uplifting message on a rock for a stranger to find. Later that day, a friend of Megan’s stumbled upon the rock and recognised the handwriting. Megan’s friend commented, ‘if you did drop this rock, it made my day’. Megan began her mission in using ordinary objects to make an extraordinary impact. 

The Head of Personal Development at Danes Hill School commented: "Megan’s story is incredibly inspiring, our pupils were excited to embark on this project. Our special Assembly host and ex Danes Hill pupil inspired many of us with her #keepitkind campaign. Keep an eye out for one of our kindness rocks!"

Pupils will be placing their rocks around the school or in their local villages for strangers to find. Danes Hill’s Anti-Bullying Week programme did not stop there; the Year 8 pupils took a trip to London to participate in a unique workshop and to watch the matinee performance of the musical Wicked. The workshop explored the theme of anti-bullying through a variety of specially selected games and exercises related to the show and was developed in collaboration with the Anti-Bullying Alliance. A highlight of the trip was the moment they spotted King Charles driving past whilst they ate their packed lunches in central London!

Mrs Shaw, Head of Danes Hill School, said "It has been a special week at Danes Hill, celebrating World Kindness Day and Anti-Bullying Week. The thoughtful messages the children have painted onto their rocks is a wonderful demonstration of the kind and caring individuals that make up our school community."