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"Friends of Rachel" Comes to Craig Lower School
On Wednesday, October 10th, Middle School students heard about Rachel's Challenge, a messageof kindness and compassion that has grown out of the Columbine High School tragedy.
Rachel Joy Scott was the first student to be killed at Columbine. The program presented to Craig students was an outgrowth of the six journals her family found after her death along with the many anecdotal accounts of her kindness.
Britta Holtcamp, a friend of Dana Scott, Rachel’s sister, presented Rachel's Challenge to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Her presentation interspersed film coverage of the Columbine shootings with excerpts from Rachel’s journals and photos of Rachel with family members and friends. She offered five challenges to the students: to eliminate prejudice by looking for the best in others; to dare to dream by setting goals; to choose positive influences; to offer kind words and small acts of kindness; and to start a chain reaction with family and friends.
After the presentation, Britta met with the 8th grade “peer leaders” of the school for a training session. Again, short film clips were shown along with information about the Friends of Rachel (F.O.R.), groups of adult and student leaders who form the “chain reaction” teams promoting kindness, compassion, respect in helping to make the school and the world a better place. The Craig peer leaders will receive CDs, posters and copies of “Teen Impact” magazine to help spread the message of kindness. They were also given suggestions such as holding “Clickety-Clack Day” on the first Tuesday of each month to encourage school cliques to reach out to other students.
