The fourth grader, Sophia Campbell, said it felt "so amazing" to receive the show of support from her classmates
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NEED TO KNOW
- A Florida fourth grader, who was having a tough day, received an emotional surprise from her classmates
- Her peers covered her desk with encouraging sticky notes to lift her spirits
- Their teacher called the gesture “empathy in action” and hopes it inspires others to spread kindness
A Florida elementary school student was having a tough day — so her classmates rallied together to lift her up.
Sophia Campbell, a student in Joanne Miller's fourth-grade class at DeBary Elementary School in Volusia County, was "feeling low in confidence," her teacher shared in a now-viral video posted by the school on Facebook.
"I feel like I’m not that smart sometimes,” Sophia told News 6.
According to the local outlet, Miller's students are part of what they call the "Kindness Squad," a group dedicated to spreading positivity around the building. When the kids noticed that Sophia was struggling, one of her classmates had an idea: to show Sophia just how loved and admired she is.
The fourth graders wrote encouraging messages on colorful sticky notes and covered Sophia's desk and chair with them.
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"This was 100% their idea. Another student led the way and shared his idea with the class, and they went all in!" Miller explained on Facebook. "While [Sophia] was out of our room, they covered her desk and chair with sticky notes full of truth, kindness, and reminders of who she is."
The notes included messages like, "You are brave" and "You can do special things," per News 6.
DeBary's video shows Sophia reacting to the heartfelt gesture from her peers. She can be seen covering her face with her hands as she told her classmates that she was "laughing and crying" because she was so "happy."
Sophia then ran to hug the student who came up with the idea for the sweet act of kindness.
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Recalling the emotional surprise to News 6, Sophia said, "When I started walking up to it and I saw so many kind words, I just got so happy. It wasn’t even a second — it was just a millisecond before I started crying and laughing. It was just so amazing that I was appreciated. I know I’m smart, I’m amazing… so many feelings.”
Reflecting on her students' heartfelt gesture, Miller said in the Facebook post that it was one of her "favorite teaching moments" in her career.
"When students learn to champion each other, that's the real win," she explained, describing it as "empathy in action."
"This is what building classroom community is all about," she added.
Miller told News 6 that she hopes people who see the video will be inspired to "want to spread joy."
"Kindness spreads kindness," she said. "The world needs kind people. And we can do anything.”
Read the full article here
