Helpfulness
You are practicing
helpfulness when you:
Notice when someone needs help.
Do a service without being asked.
Give people what they need, not always what they want.
Listen when someone needs to talk.
Take care of yourself.
Ask for help when you need it.
Helping at Bishop Savaryn School
We encourage the children at Bishop Savaryn School to be helpful and to make a difference in the lives of others in and out of school.
Here are some of the ways that we are helpful to others at Bishop Savaryn School :
- We have classroom lunch monitors who supervise and help the students who stay for lunch.
- We have recess monitors who supervise classrooms at recess when the weather is too cold to go outside at recess,
- We have milk monitors who distribute milk to children each lunch.
- We have a technology council who encourages children at their grade level to expand their computer skills at lunch.
- We have office helpers who answer the phone at recess and lunch.
- We have teachers and support staff who organize and help students in each of the above activities as well as many other in school activities.
Student Stories
The Man in the Forest
One day, Garry went into the forest for a walk. As he walked along an animal trail, he tripped on something big and scraped his knee. He heard something loud coming towards him. He turned around and looked back. He saw a big, brown, ugly wolf. He jumped up and started to run. The wolf caught up to him and began to tear up his leg. He was screaming and cried for help. But no one could hear him scream.
One hour later…
Three men were walking down the same animal trial. They saw Garry lying on the ground in a pond of blood. He was trying to say help. They didn’t even bother to listen to him.
One of the men said, "Look at that foolish man, he is just trying to pretend that he is hurt and he also put a lot of fake blood around himself."
The other man said, "Why should we help a stranger?"
The first man started talking again, "We shouldn’t get involved."
Next day…
Two ladies, Maria and Michelle, were walking on same animal trail. They were talking to each other.
One of them said, "Did you know, when my husband got back to the cabin, he was talking about a man who was pretending a injury?"
"So was Michael. He was saying that there was a man lying on the ground. He was pretending to be hurt but he really wasn’t I think." said the Michelle.
They kept walking, and then they saw Garry lying down.
"Please… help me," the man said with a really low voice.
"Michelle, look at that foolish man, trying to fake his injury. Don’t pay attention to him, our husbands were right. There is a foolish man here," said Maria.
"We shouldn’t get involved." replied Michelle
Later that night…
The man was still on the ground. He had tears coming out of his eyes. He heard a dog barking. It was getting louder and louder. The dog was leading a lady towards him. He wasn’t crying for any help this time. He was just saying a short prayer. After he finished his prayer, he started to think. The lady was hiding behind a tree holding something in her hand. He noticed her, but didn’t say anything. Then he started saying a little poem.
"I am a man,
That drives a red van.
I came to the forest one day,
People thought they had to pay.
I got all hit and bitten,
I also got part of my leg eaten.
I cried out loud,
But I didn’t hear a sound.
People just talked,
Then started to walk.
I was left alone,
I wanted to go home."
The lady walked towards him with her dog.
She started talking and said, "I heard your poem. It was very lovely. What is your name?"
The man turned his head, he said with a strange and low tone, "My name is Garry Tomas."
She smiled and touched his face. He felt cold and wet.
She said, "I will help you, my name is Michelle, the wife of Michael."
She went back to the cabin and got her husband’s car. She brought him to the medical center. It took over a hour to get there. She knew that he would survive.
The doctor told her, "He'll be fine. He was just out in the cold for few days and something had bitten him. He is very lucky that you came along and helped him out. You saved his life by getting involved."
Abbey
THE LOST CHILD
One sunny day a woman was planting her flowers for the summer. Both of her kids were outside with her playing on the front lawn. She could see everything that they were doing.
A truck pulled up beside her sidewalk. The driver put the truck in neutral. So it made a loud thump sound. The woman turned around to see what it was. She only saw her two year old daughter Stephanie, "Where is Ashley?" she thought. She started to yell, "Ashley!" She ran to her daughter and picked her up and said, "Do you know where Ashley is?"
" Tuck," she said pointing to the truck that just drove up the street.
The woman started to run up the street yelling "Come back!" It was too late the truck was gone. The woman started to panic. She ran inside check every room in the house. No sight of her daughter Ashley. She ran outside and started to check the neighborhood. Her face was covered in tears she started to yelled "Ashley, Ashley where are you?" There was no answer.
The neighborhood people Alice and her husband mike heard the woman’s cries of fear. They stopped washing their car and ran over to her and they asked," What’s wrong?"
"My daughter is…is gone I don’t know where she went," said the woman crying.
" Don’t worry we will find her. Let’s look inside, ok," said the couple.
They went inside and double-checked everywhere but no sight of Ashley. So they split up, Mike checked outside, Alice checked the basement and the woman checked the bedrooms. The woman went into Ashley’s room. The mother looked on the bed to see if she was there. The blankets were all bundled up, she pulled them over and there was her daughter Ashley sleeping so quietly she ran downstairs and yelled " I’ve found her, I’ve found her!"
The wife came running up the stairs and went outside to her husband and yelled, "She found her." They both ran inside.
The woman thanked the couple for helping her search for her daughter.
Ashley
Helpfulness
Virtues are important for you to live a good life. They are important rules that you must obey in order to be happy with yourself and the people around you.
The virtue of helpfulness is shown when you are helpful to someone or something. Being helpful is important for you to learn that, just doing your own work is not enough. Helping makes you happy inside and out.
A conversation about helpfulness would go like this:
"I finished cleaning. Do you want to come to my house now?"
"Sorry, I' m not finished, yet!"
"Don't worry, I'll help you."
Annalise-Grade 6
Helpfulness
Helpfulness is when you notice when someone is hurt or when you do something for someone. An example OF THIS would be
Helpfulness
The children were involved in a study of creatures under the sea. To illustrate the virtue of Helpfulness in this theme, we used the book written by Marcus Pfister, " The Rainbow Fish." In this story, a fish that is blessed with wonderful rainbow colored, shimmering scales, learns that it is better to share this gift, than to hoard the scales all to himself.
We then discussed all of our own God given talents, and wrote sentences on how we could show helpfulness to others by sharing these gifts.
In an accompanying art project, we sketched fish, using the beautiful color tones of Marcus Pfister. We cut out bits of shiny wrapping paper, and added these to the picture, to better illustrate our willingness to give and to receive.
I’m an excellent reader. I love to read to the Kindergarteners,
they are the best! They listen so well, and when I am done, they clap!
Alexandra
I share my love with my mom, dad, sister, my teacher, and my classmates because I love them a lot. I can read really well, and I like to share that, so that’s what I do!
Danielle
My sister Sarah doesn’t know how to swim, so I teach her. When I see someone hurt, I help them. I also spread love and hugs. I’m a good friend, I listen to other peoples’ ideas.
Amber
I love to share my talents, like I’ll always give a helping hand. I put lots of effort into my work. I’m a very good soccer player, and super good friend.
Liandra
I am an excellent reader! I did a play with the class! I am a very good piano player! I played to everyone in music class. I am very kind. I share with people. I am good at computer skills, and I share it will my class.
Joseph
I can share my talents by helping my teacher by finding her purse! I can share my talent by doing a somersault in front of my friend, Emilio. I can also share my talent by doing crafts for my mom, dad, and my brother. I can share my talent by reading with expression to my reading partner, Cody! I can share my talent by my good ideas when we are writing.
Steven
I like to give my love to others. I love to be a good artist. I read with expression.
Tyler
I’m good at healing when others are hurting. That's why I want to be a doctor when I grow up.
Aaron
Brainstorming on the virtue of Helpfulness
