MLES sends Napkinisms to patients at Children’s Hospital of Alabama

After hearing from guest speaker Billy Ivey, the founder of Napkinisms, students at Mt Laurel Elementary each wrote a Napkinism note to be sent to patients at Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

Ivey shared with the students the story of how Napkinisms got started with an Instagram photo and how it’s gained popularity. He now writes the notes for companies including Chick-fil-A and Children’s Hospital of Alabama.

Students got ideas of what makes a good napkin note from Ivey. They are partly humorous and partly inspirational, but the main idea is simply to create messages that can help to brighten someone’s day.

The Napkinisms project was conducted during the student’s monthly “House” meeting, a school community-building initiative that is entering its second year. The “Houses” concept was first introduced to Principal Celita Deem by first-grade teacher Heather Butler.

“I had read an article about another school that had implemented the concept, and it sounded like a really good way for not only our students to interact but also the teachers from different grade levels who don’t always get to spend time with each other,” Butler said.

Butler said it has really been impactful in that the students are building relationships with each other from the various grade levels and teachers are getting to know students other than the ones in their class.

Submitted by Cindy Warner.