A charitable & foundational partnerships to ensure that portions of proceeds and/or profits are channeled to organizations dedicated to building better lives for underprivileged kids.
Today 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.
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.
It is an honor to present Ethan Pio as our Cape Kid of the month for March. Ethan graduated West Morris Mendham High School this past June and really showed his peers that it is cool to be kind.
For the past three years, Ethan has been a part of a club called Friends and Buddies at Mendham. This club works with special needs students at his school. Ethan has become good friends with all of the special needs students, however, he says “Casey has probably been the closest to me and has caught my eye the most.”
As Ethan’s senior prom was approaching, he knew he wanted to make a memorable prom for himself and his date. When he was thinking about who to ask, Ethan instantly thought of Casey for a couple of reasons. First of all, Casey made it a point to tell everyone in their school that Ethan and her were “boyfriend and girlfriend.” Another reason for him wanting to take Casey to prom was because he says, “she is honestly one of the most perfect people at Mendham. Despite her special needs, every girl should strive to be more like Casey.” Last but certainly not least, Ethan wanted to give Casey a memorable day to make her as happy as she makes others every day. She was certainly the most deserving girl he could have asked.
When it came to the promposal, Ethan went all out. On Casey’s birthday everyone sang to her in the lunchroom, but behind her a huge present was waiting for her. When Casey opened the gift, out popped Ethan with a sign asking her to prom. She said yes and they both had huge smiles on their faces. The promposal was elaborate, to say the least, because Ethan wanted to make every part of Casey’s prom so special.
The day of prom, Ethan recalls seeing the excitement on Casey’s face in school. At pre-prom pictures, Ethan says, “Casey smiled so big when we took pictures and she excitedly introduced me to her family. It was honestly the cutest thing ever for her to introduce me the way she did even though I had met her family countless times.”
On the way to prom, Casey, Ethan and their friends had a blast on the party bus. Once at prom, they danced the night away. The highlight of the night was when Ethan got a bunch of his friends to form a circle around Casey and she danced with a huge smile on her face. Ethan made sure Casey had the best night and one she can remember forever. Ethan admits, “the whole weekend Casey’s mom was spamming my phone because Casey was talking about prom so much. This prom was far better than last year and far better than anything I could have done that day.”
When asked how he would describe his relationship with Casey, Ethan says “she is always so positive, happy and unbelievably caring. She looks out for the well-being of her other classmates helping them to be safe and get them through their days. She is also hilarious and tries to make people laugh and be happy when there not having a good day. That is not something you see from the majority of high school students.”
On a daily basis, Ethan tries to BETTER THAN THAT™by not caring about the people who try to bring him down. He tries to be himself and help others whenever he can just like Casey does. Ethan believes it is important for people to reject drama and not get caught up in problems that come along with being a teen. Ethan admits, “I do not consider myself as kind, but I know I have done kind things.” He thinks kind actions are the right thing to do because everyone deserves to have a good day every day.
Through working with special needs students, Ethan lives his life by focusing on the good over the bad. He tries to be like Casey in the sense that he is always friendly and selflessly makes other people’s lives better. Ethan is a humble hero who continues to WEAR THE CAPE™ proudly. It is an honor for us to share his kindness story. Good Luck next year following your dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer at Purdue University.
School is back in session, leaving us longing for the lazy days of summer, yet excited for the potential and possibilities that the school year brings.
As our schedules go from relaxed to overwhelming, it is easy to push aside the quality time you shared with your family over the summer. I admit, I do fall into “the back to school trap.” As parents, we transition into “survival mode” while juggling work, dinner, kids activities, and homework. It feels as if there is no extra time to spend on anything fun. Even play dates have taken a back seat in our family, due to lack of time.
However, our children need and crave that quality time and that down time. In response to my son telling me that he “can only talk to me through my lap top,” I decided to make some serious changes this coming school year in an effort to bring back quality time to my family. Below I’ve listed my school year “Quality Time (QT)“ strategies, should you wish to join my mission to bring “QT” back to your family life.
“QT” Strategies:
Power Down: set a specific time during the after school hours where you turn off your phone and computer so that your full attention is on your children. Let co-workers and friends know you are not available between those hours to return calls or messages. Have your children power down as well.
Leverage Driving Time: Car time can be great quality time. Instead of all but the driver on their devices, bring back a good old game of Eye Spy or 20 questions about your day. Our favorite question is: how were you kind today?
Revive Back Family Game Night: Designate one night a week to play board games with your children.
Move Together: Go for a family walk or bike ride
Break Bread Together: If, like most families, you can’t eat dinner as a family each night due to activities, try to eat a family appetizer (fruit and veggies) before you leave for evening activities or perhaps family dessert upon your return. All you need is fifteen minutes, but the benefits of coming together to communicate as a family will last much longer!
Wishing you and your family a happy and successful school year, filled with lots of love, laughter, and….quality time together.
Today 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.
