Saratoga News

Redwood school students ranked high in good deeds

Internet postings sparked enthusiasm

By Michelle Alaimo

Parents of some Redwood Middle School students may have noticed their teens helping out a little more than usual lately. It's not some sort of New Year's resolution: Students are participating in a new nationwide program called the National Kindness and Justice Challenge. And their efforts have been well noted, with the school being ranked eighth in the nation for the acts of the students.

The teenagers, at the only West Coast school to rank in the top 15, first learned about the program from eighth-grade teacher Kaitlin McGiffin. The history and language arts teacher said the program, linked to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, sounded interesting, so she decided to get her 88 students involved, entering three days after the contest started on Jan.5. She never dreamt what would happen next. Students loved being able to go online and write about their various acts of kindness--which included everything from taking their moms out to lunch to ironing a brother's shirts. They enjoyed it so much, in fact, that other classes at the school found out about the program and became involved.

Soon some 300 students, mostly eighth-graders, at Redwood joined the program, logging their acts on a daily basis, with some going online from home and some from computers at school.

"[The program] makes me feel important," Nathan Mercos, 13, said.

He added that since the random acts are all entered online, he is able to make good use of his computer skills.

McGiffin said students' being able to use the computer for this contest is what got and kept their interest. The contest, which ended Jan. 23, had a Web site that was updated eight times a day. This allowed students to monitor their school's progress several times a day. All students and teachers who enter the contest are eligible to win prizes, such as computers and grants, depending on where they and the school rank.

Johnna Sung, 14, said it was easy to go on to the computer and check the school's standing and said she found it fun because they were ranked so high in the nation.

The contest was easy, Alice Sheng, 13, said. She added that she didn't realize how many things she did without being told until this contest came along and is glad McGiffin brought the program to students' attention.

The program is presented by the Do Something organization. To view some of the acts of kindness and to see how other schools in the nation ranked, visit the program's Web site.

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