The children gathered for a recent assembly on kindness at Harker’s lower school campus closed their eyes in unison, listening for something they had never heard before: the sound of a smile.

“Show me a smile … keep your eyes closed … hear how a smile sounds,” instructed one of a group of student mentors from Harker’s upper school. Standing on stage before their younger peers, they laughed along with their enraptured audience, who immediately broke out in a chorus of giggles while trying to smile, eyes shut tight.

It was all part of Harker’s continued effort to have upper school students serve as mentors for the lower school children. The high school students, clad in white T-shirts and jeans, used a silly skit to demonstrate how random acts of kindness, such as a simple smile, are a great chance to reach out and make new friends. This group included sophomores Rohith Bhethanabotla, Arjun Goyal, Vincent Lin and Sahithya Prakash and  juniors Neel Bhoopalam, David Lindars, Simar Mangat and Maverick McNealy.

Every year, the elementary school holds a winter assembly tied to a specific theme. This year’s theme – kindness – seemed like a natural fit to unite Harker’s oldest and youngest kids, and an opportunity for positive interaction.

“With the Eagle Buddies mentoring program being such a big success, we got the idea to have the upper school students come out, do some skits, and talk about being kind,” said Joe Connolly, dean of students K-5.