Secaucus Elementary School Kids 'Start With Hello'

SECAUCUS, NJ — The kids at Huber and Clarendon elementary schools got a unique start to their school day this week: That's because the two local Secaucus elementary schools participated in "Start With Hello," part of the Sandy Hook Promise campaign.

On Monday at Huber Street, and on Wednesday at Clarendon, the entire town police department, fire department, mayor, Secaucus town council and parents showed up to say "hello" to the kids and greet them as they walked into school.

"As the students walked into school today, everyone said hello or gave them a fist bump or a high five," Clarendon school principal Danielle Garzon told Patch. "We are trying to show the kids that one smile can start a friendship, one word can end a fight and one act can make a difference."

The program comes from the Sandy Hook Promise, an initiative that was launched after the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, where 20 six- and seven-year-olds were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

As part of the Sandy Hook Promise, students and teachers are taught to look for students who might be showing signs of social isolation, aggression and loneliness. September 23-27, 2019 is "Start With Hello Week" in public schools across America.

"We want the children to know they have to be kind to one another throughout the school year," continued Clarendon school principal Garzon. "Sometimes just walking down the hall and smiling at someone might make all the difference in another student's day. And we try to teach them to look for kids who might be lonely or socially isolated."

Huber Street school did the "Hello" Day on Monday and Clarendon did it Wednesday.

Then later on Wednesday morning, everyone at Clarendon school wore green and walked out into the school fields and formed the word "HELLO" in the field to promote connectedness and demonstrate kindness. A drone captured the magic, see above.

Every day, Clarendon school has a "mindfulness moment," where a student gets on the loudspeaker and leads the students in a short, two-minute meditation break. On Wednesday, it was a Secaucus police officer who led the students in a "bubble gum breathing" technique.

"The students loved it," said Garzon. "They could not believe it was a police officer on the loudspeaker."