ASHBURN, Va. — Everyone remembers the dreaded feeling of walking into a school cafeteria and not knowing where to sit. All eyes are on you as you scope out the scene of various cliques. We all hope for one group that will wave us over with a friendly greeting.
Steuart Weller School is trying to promote friendship and a caring attitude at an early age. School officials came up with the idea of a "friendship table;" a round table to promote discussion among various students.
"At the early ages of elementary level, we're trying to understand different emotions and how to react to them," says school counselor Liz Torres. "With a round table, you can see more faces, you can hear more people."
The table was a gift from Apple Federal Credit Union. Through its Kindness Rocks program, the Virginia-based bank is impacting the lives of community members.
"Sometimes as an organization, you might give money to a cause or sponsor something, and you don't get to see the result," says Katie Knight of AFCU. "To see how this table has been incorporated into the kindness theme at Steuart Weller was fantastic."
What Steuart Weller is starting at the elementary level will hopefully last for years to come. These students are building relationships that can carry into middle school and high school years. The cafeteria just became a lot more inviting.
The article is sponsored by Apple Federal Credit Union.