A simple act of kindness can provide a big smile for someone else. That’s what the staff and students at Catasauqua Middle School believe - and that’s what they’re doing.

The project is called the Smile Walkway, an area filled with drawings and words or phrases of encouragement made by students, with its purpose to bring a smile to the viewer. Originally named Smile Wall, it was changed to the new term in April when an exact location was chosen for the project.

“We have four showcases in the walkway that takes students from one end of the building to the other. We often call it the bridge,” said Amy Dymond-Jones, counselor at CMS.

Dymond-Jones works to make sure her students’ academic, social and emotional learning, as well as their career education, are all being focused on and met appropriately. For the 2020-21 school year, she had students in grades 6 and 8. In the next school year, she will have grades 5 and 7 and will move up with those students the following year - so counselors stay with their students.

“We get to know them pretty well by the time they leave eighth grade,” Dymond-Jones said.

The project started to develop in an Olweus Bullying Prevention Program class meeting, which takes place every two weeks. Teachers initiated the idea during a separate committee meeting, and, with students’ help, it blossomed into a full project.

Dan Olweus is the creator of the prevention program, which CMS brought into the school many years ago.

The initiative will continue in the 2021-22 academic year, and Dymond-Jones said she is hopeful it will continue for many years to come. She added it would be nice to see it change with each school year.

Although the hangings, whether in traditional handmade form or made on the computer, will start at the walkway for the next school year, the location may not necessarily stay the same forever. More locations could be added to store the pictures and words of encouragement, she noted.

“Our students in the SAVE Club have ideas about where to have our smile areas next year,” Dymond-Jones said.

Students in the SAVE Club and Student Forum who wanted to be involved hung the works of art, but every student at CMS was welcome to create drawings and words of encouragement. Students began putting the pieces in the showcases May 7.

Students who participated in this project had positive things to say about it.

Sixth-grader Jaylin R. said, “I feel so good, and that makes my day, and I hope that the person [who] I made happy makes someone else happy.”

Yoliana, in seventh grade, added, “I feel great because I’m bringing kindness to the world.”

Owen S., in eighth grade, said, “It helps me to believe that I provide something to this world and am able to help others.”

Dymond-Jones emphasized she is always looking for community-building projects. Initiatives involving painting rocks and putting them around the area is another example of the projects being done.

“I think any time we’re encouraging our students to be thinking outside of themselves at this age level is positive,” Dymond-Jones said. “I feel that it’s a healthy activity, in which they should feel something good can come out of it for them as students, but it’s also going to have the possibility of making other people feel good and smile, too. It’s very positive and good community building, too.”