Teachers constantly remind students to be kind to one another, but at Ecole Good Shepard School it is the students that emphasize kindness.

Intentional Courtesy is a program that was introduced into the school six years ago and it has changed the perspective of the students.

Coordinator of Intentional Courtesy Greg Gibbs says the teachers teach the program but it's the students that truly encourage one another to be the best they can be.

"Intentional Courtesy is a culture-building program in our school where we are trying to work with the kids to build a culture of kindness and courtesy towards one another, but also something that extends outside the school as well and connects with other people. So when we talk about Intentional Courtesy, the way the kids explain is Intentional Courtesy is to go out of your way to be kind to the lonely, sad or the mad. So not just being kind to your friends or your buddies but it's about reaching out to those people that need it."

Within the school the sixth graders act as "encouragers" to the 1st through 5th graders.

They actively participate in and lead workshops that occur once a month and bare responsibilities of being a role model for the younger students.

Gibbs says the program works a lot more efficiently when it is so student driven.

"I think that's what makes this different, there's lots of character development type programs out there and the ones that are most successful are the ones where you have student involvement as much as possible and that's the thing that attracted me to doing this six years ago."

But the school doesn't just focus on kindness within its walls, they also have community and global initiatives they strive to meet each year.

This year the school collected a record amount of food for the food bank and has also raised around $2,700 that will go towards building a classroom in India.

The students are currently in the middle of a campaign called  "We Create Change", which collects change to see a change within our world.

Gibbs says it's not how much change they collect, but how they earn it is the importance of the program.

"We Create Change is about collecting change in order to make a change. So we didn't want kids to go home and just be begging their parents and nickel and diming them for money for the kids to bring. We wanted it to be something the kids connected with, something that they earned. So it's not about how much you brought in but what you did."

The Ecole Good Shepard students goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of the school year, so if any businesses or individuals within the community are interested in the work the students are doing they are welcome and encouraged to get involved.

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