Girl Scouts Leave Messages Of Kindness Around SPMS

On a Tuesday morning in June, SPMS students stepped off school buses and were greeted with messages like “U. R. AWESOME, U. R. ENOUGH, U. R. WORTH IT,” “Love More,” and “Believe in Yourself!”

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Posted Thursday, June 27, 2019 9:12 am

On Monday, June 3, for the fourth consecutive year, Severna Park High School ninth-graders from Girl Scout Troop 2000 spent an afternoon drawing sidewalk chalk messages of kindness and acceptance at Severna Park Middle School. On Tuesday morning, students stepped off school buses and were greeted with messages like “U. R. AWESOME, U. R. ENOUGH, U. R. WORTH IT,” “Love More,” and “Believe in Yourself!”

The girls first came up with this idea while completing their Girl Scout journey, Amaze! The Twists and Turns of Getting Along. A journey is a series of lessons with discussions that aim to instill a sense of empowerment, community connectedness, teamwork and leadership in scouts. The culmination of a journey involves the Take Action Project. Here, the scouts put their teamwork skills to use by creating a plan to make a positive change in their community. SPMS Principal Sharon Hansen was thrilled with Troop 2000’s sidewalk chalk project proposal, and she immediately gave her approval.

When asked what Troop 2000 is hoping to convey with this annual chalking event, troop member Abby said, “We want the students, staff and visitors of SPMS to know that people care about you. We want to make you happy, if even for a second.”

Sophie added, “Our goal is to brighten someone’s day. We want to encourage people to have a positive mindset, and to be kind to others.”

Troop member Sarah shared, “We write these messages to motivate students to consider doing something for others. A small act can make a big difference for people who are struggling, or even just for people who may need some encouragement.”

The girls all agreed that they enjoy this project because they like to draw, and it is fun to share the experience with friends. It makes them feel good about themselves because they know that they are potentially helping others.

Troop 2000 was formed nine years ago when the students were in kindergarten at Folger McKinsey. They are Abby, Ainslee, Danielle, Ginger, Grace, Lily, Lucy, Sarah, Sophie and Sydney. Troop 2000 plans to continue its annual sidewalk chalk messages of kindness project. Eventually, they will pass on the tradition to a younger Girl Scout troop to comply with the Girl Scout’s sustainability requirement. The troop has always worked on projects that involve helping the environment, nature and wildlife, and also kindness and acceptance of one another.