Catherine raises her hand and tells the class some difficult news;  that her mother, Patty, had just recently passed away. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss. That’s never easy to go through. Trust me, remain positive and you’ll be ok. I feel we can relate. I am here for you and can help you if you need anything. Your Mom will be watching down on you, keeping an eye on you and helping to guide you through your life. I know your Mom wants you to live your life to the fullest, set a positive example and become a successful person.”

Kelly gets up next and talks about her brother Jim who is currently fighting in the military. Kelly said one of the biggest lessons she learned from her brother is to never give up and never be afraid to strive for what you believe in. 

Shelia said, “I’m sorry for what you both are going through right now.

Never be afraid to express your true feelings. We are all human beings. We all feel happy sometimes. We all feel sad sometimes. We all feel scared sometimes. It’s all part of human emotion.”

Shelia then helped lead them singing, “This Little Light of Mine.” 

Shelia’s leadership begins to show as each of her classmates and their families begin reading at home together each night and her classmates tell their families about their day in school every day and every morning all of her classmates walk into the classroom with a smile on their faces. 

The class begins to thrive with Shelia’s presence in the classroom. There is more class interaction and participation. Every morning, all the students walk in and greet each other, want to talk to each other, are eager to learn and to share their journal entries. 

One morning, Shelia asked the class to write in their journals what you need to do to be a good leader:

Billy said, “Assisting people in need” 

John said, “Staying positive through every situation” 

Timmy said, “Being Kind & Being the Best You Can Be” 

Michael said, “Being a good role model” 

Mark said, “Be Honest and Caring” 

Ben said, “Set A Positive Example for Others”

Marica said, “Stay Calm and Keep Your Composure Through Every Situation”

Kelly said, “Like Ben said, Set A Positive Example for others to Follow Your Lead”

Catherine said, “Be A Good Kind Person”

Gail said, “Keep Your Head Held High”

Grace said, “Be Friendly”

Shelia said, “I’ll Echo All of You and Say, be the Best, Gracious Human Being You Can Be.”

One night, Gail gave them a homework assignment to Do A Good Deed. A Random Act of Kindness. 

The next morning, Gail asked everyone to share what they did. 

Billy said, “when I got off the school bus, I saw my next-door neighbor carrying tons of groceries. I went over to her, helped her unload her car, bring them inside and unpack everything.” 

John said, “after school I went over to visit my grandmother who was not feeling well. I brought her over some cough medicine and some chicken soup.” 

Timmy said, “when I got home from school, I saw my neighbor carrying out heavy bags of garbage. I went over to him and gave him a hand helping him carry out the heavy bags and roll down the garbage cans for garbage pickup.”  

Other examples mentioned included collecting food & toiletries to donate to the poor, cooking dinner, baby sitting and homework help.