By James R. Lowell Healthy Lion reporters | Spread love and kindness to bring joy to everyone and help build a positive school community, says Marquis Bailey, lead climate staff at James R. Lowell Elementary.

Healthy Lion reporters interviewed Mr. Marquis to discuss the importance of kindness and how it can impact you and other students in the school. “Treat each other with love and kindness,” Mr. Marquis said.

Acts of kindness to staff and other students can build a habit for people to be positive to each other. If you show an act of kindness, it makes other people want to be helpful to others, according to the video “The Science of Kindness.” “Being kind is one way kids can help make the school community stronger and reduce bullying behavior,” according to StopBullying.gov.

When you behave kindly, it can help make you feel good, doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center wrote in a blog post, “The Science of Kindness.”

“Acts of kindness can release hormones that contribute to your mood and overall wellbeing,” the article says.

Mr. Marquis defined bullying as making fun of, fighting, and/or teasing. He said he sees it too much during recess and the lunchroom.

To prevent bullying from happening, he suggested that you “be nice to staff, students, and everybody.” Being kind will make other people feel good instead of fighting. If you are being bullied, Mr. Marquis said, students should: 1) ignore it, 2) walk away, and 3) tell a teacher or other adult in the school.

The best way to prevent bullying, according to Mr. Marquis, is to spread love and kindness to others. For example, he has seen acts of kindness from students cleaning up the lunchroom. By showing these acts of kindness, “it can bring joy to other people to make a positive environment.” Mr. Marquis said.

Illustration by Quasiyon, Russell Byers Charter School, 2023–2024.