Cue the Yuletide Spirit: 13 Amazing Acts of Kindness We Saw In Schools During December

December 7: The day 1,000 happy sticky notes appeared at a Pennsylvania middle school — About 1,000 messages were written on brightly colored sticky notes and then posted all around Waynesboro Area Middle School. The act of kindness was performed by the school’s chapter of the Leo Club, a youth program of Lions Club International. (Read more: The Record Herald)

December 9: Non-Muslim students in Illinois wear hijab in solidarity with Muslim classmates — Members of Vernon Hills High School’s Muslim Student Association showed students how to wear the headdress. Dubbed "Walk a Mile in Her Hijab,” the event allowed Muslim female students to demystify an important aspect of their faith. (Read more: Daily Herald)

November 30: California businessman replaces bikes stolen from middle school — When grocery store owner Erich Littschwager  learned that twenty-six mountain bikes worth $9,000 were stolen from Visitacion Valley Middle School in San Francisco, he stepped in to replace them. The bikes are used in the school’s physical education classes. (Read more: CBS San Francisco)

December 3: New York middle school students organize ‘Peace Parade’ to end local violence — After six shootings occurred in the Syracuse area over the course of just three days, students at Danforth Middle School felt the need to speak out. They braved the cold and rain to march in a peace parade, which featured speeches from Mayor Stephanie Miner and other community leaders. (Read more: WAER)

December 11: Ohio community builds home ramp for disabled student —  When eighth grader Elena Shoemaker was absent from Logan-Hocking Middle School for several days, the attendance officer learned that she had broken a leg. Despite being 95% wheelchair-bound, she wasn’t eligible for funding for a ramp at her home. So they local community came together and built one in five hours in just one day. (Read more: The Logan Daily News)

December 4: Texas 8th grader saves bus driver during medical emergency — When Deerpark Middle School student Courtney Garcia noticed that her bus driver had become unresponsive, she jumped into action, calling for help using the bus’s the two-way radio. She also helped calm down younger students who had begun to panic. Garcia plans to be a nurse or a pediatrician one day. (Read more: KEYE)

December 1: New York high school opens a ‘Teen Closet’ to help low income students with basic needs — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the opening of the new “Teen Closet” at Poughkeepsie High School. Initiated by teachers Jennifer Burke and Demetra Kapogiannis, the closet will offer free goods such as personal hygiene items, socks, and underwear to students in need. 86% of students in the district are economically disadvantaged, according to state data. (Read more: Poughkeepsie Journal)

December 14: Oklahoma teens go on shopping spree to help less fortunate kids — Teens from Grove High School’s Interact Club went on a shopping spree. But instead of maxing out their parents’ credit cards, they went shopping for a good cause – Christmas presents for fifty kids in need. The club raised $2,000 on their own and the local rotary club donated an additional $1,000 to the project. (Read more: FourStatesHomepage.com)

December 13 – Minnesota high school student’s senior project? Miles of new bike trails in the heart of a nature preserve — When Tim Koehler, senior at Minnesota New Country School was deciding what to do for his senior project, he thought about the lack of local mountain biking trails in his area. He proposed the creation of trails to be built for Ney Nature Center, a nearby 446-acre nature preserve. The Le Sueur County board has tentatively approved the project, adding $25,000 to its staffing budget to assist with the project. (Read more: Mankato Free Press)

December 14: Colorado middle school showcases autistic student’s dinosaur art — There’s a special hallway in Eaton Middle School where the school’s accolades are on full display. A case packed with athletic awards sits next to another one with academic awards. Thanks to principal Jim Orth, the hallway now features the dinosaur art of Cameron Spahn, a mainstreamed autistic student who also runs cross country — when he’s not painting prehistoric visions. (Read more: The Tribune)