Tag: teenagers

Week of Respect Assembly

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Wear The CapeToday we presented our first HERO assembly for the Week of Respect 2019. Wear The Cape Visited Lawrenceville Elementary School, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. We were greeted with lots of smiles and high fives from the LES students and staff. During our program, students were able to identify the many ways that they can be a hero by being BETTER THAN THAT(tm) and vowing to Wear The Cape every day, both in school and outside of school.Wear the Cape

Students chanted, “Heroes always help,” while they all sported their very own super hero poses. They participated in exciting role plays, and were touched by our Cape Kids showing how they Wear The Cape, in our Cape Kid video segments.

Ms. Melissa Wall, LES school counselor, was a hero to her staff and students when she wrote and won a grant to bring Wear The Cape to her school. “I am so excited to have your program at our school!” she exclaimed when we first spoke. We are honored that Ms. Wall chose our program to use for her grant!

We thank you, Ms. Wall, and all the staff and students at Lawrenceville Elementary School, for allowing us to bring our HERO assembly to you as the first assembly of the 2019 Week of Respect.

If you would like to bring a Hero Assembly to your school, please email leighann@wearthecapekids.com

Cape Kid of the Month – Dean Ciccarelli – May 2018

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Dean-CiccarelliIt is a privilege to name Dean Ciccarelli as our Cape Kid for the month of May.  Dean, who is a student at Chatham High School, in New Jersey dedicates much of his time to kindness…and we are incredibly proud!

Dean has been involved in his school’s sports teams, as he was a member of the Cougar’s varsity wrestling team and freshman lacrosse team.  As well, he has shown great commitment and determination to both himself and his peers, as he spent seven years training to become a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, when he was a fifth grader. When he was overwhelmed and wanted to quit, Dean persisted until he reached his goal.

Dean-CiccarelliWith all this, Dean makes time to volunteer, and serve his community, on a regular basis. Each year Dean is a Cape Kid volunteer at kidkind foundation’s holiday event, where he collects guests’ donations for our military overseas and gifts for underprivileged children.  Also at this event, he works with our youngest Cape Kids to help facilitate a fun evening.

Along with his Youth Ministry group, Dean volunteers to make food for the homeless throughout the year. He also volunteered at a local food pantry with his lacrosse team, to help those in need.

Dean has been a constant source of support to Wear the Cape, his family, and friends.  His mom, Ann states, “Since the day he was able to talk we knew that Dean was going to be one special kid.  He has always been wiser than his years and always has been very concerned with others well being. I have seen various occasions where Dean has seen something that just didn’t seem “right” to him and stepped in to make sure that kids are OK and not being treated poorly. “

Dean-CiccarelliWith this in mind, it came as no surprise that Dean met with his superintendent of schools to propose a kidkind kindness club, which he will facilitate, in his district’s elementary schools.  It is Dean’s goal to work with middle school students to help transition them to middle and high school, while promoting kindness, heroism, good character and being BETTER THAN THAT™.  As Dean states, “Being BETTER THAN THAT™ is doing good things, whether that means to be accepting of someone or to even just hold the door for someone.”

Dean, we thank you for your commitment to kindness. You are a true example of being BETTER THAN THAT™ and we are excited to see your kidkind club come to fruition.

Helping our kids with their phones

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cell phoneThe decision to give your child a cell phone is not an easy one to make. Personal cell phones for children are an important responsibility for both parents and children – one that needs to be taken with utmost care.

In our society today, we have heard too many instances of children misusing their cell phones, many times without realizing the devastating consequences their “cyber behavior” has to other children and their families. As parents, we need to “step up our game” to help guide and support our kids on proper cell phone use.

How do we do this? Thanks to our friends at familiesmanagingmedia.com, we can have some insight as to when our children are ready for their own phone and devices, and how we can help them to be responsible for safely using their technology.

Mary Beth Forte, a supporter of Wear The Cape, recently reached out to us to share a letter that she and her husband wrote to their daughter, which she adapted from a template found on familiesmanagingmedia.com. The letter provides boundaries for cell phone use, including texting, taking and posting of photos, and the use of social media.

The reason for this letter is summed up at the end of the Forte’s first paragraph, “…we love you more than we can say and want to keep you safe!” We urge all parents to create a cell phone and device policy with their children. Please, talk with your child about what he/she is experiencing via text messages and calls. Make sure your child is appropriately using his/her device. . . and ultimately, let them know how much you love them and want to keep them safe.

To see a sample of the Forte’s adaptation of the cell phone rules letter click here.

In Kindness,

The Wear The Cape Team