Ada Kindness for All

08/09/2023

If you aren't familiar with the Red Glasses Movement, check out the amazing program the Jandernoa family has started in honor of Audrey!

08/05/2023

After a summer of creating, the Kindness for All painting project on the Ada Elementary playground is complete! We are so excited to share this video with everyone. The art brightens up the playground, but also gives our students collaborative play options. And the Kindness for All logo reminds our students to include others in playtime and remember to always be kind.

Many thanks to Jason King at Rocket Ship Playgrounds for sharing your talents with our community. This project would also not be possible without the support of our Ada Elementary families at the April auction as well as the Forest Hills Public Schools Foundation. And a special thanks to the families of Audrey Jandernoa, Lucas VanSprange, and Luke Balstad for allowing us to be part of the continuing legacy of love for those three members of the Ada Elementary community.

If you have not yet had a chance to check out the playground art, make sure you do the next time you are at Ada. We know you'll feel the joy the paintings inspire!

07/20/2023

Four square anyone? Check out the incredible four square court by the lower elementary doors. And there's still another one in progress! The playground project just keeps getting more amazing. We can't wait to share the final product with all our Ada Rangers!

07/13/2023

The playground painting project is in the final stages! If you haven't stopped by to see the amazing art yet, you are missing out. Jason King is adding a few more touches, but we should have the "full reveal" ready by next week. Our Ada Rangers are going to have so much fun with the new interactive games on the playground!

07/06/2023

The playground at school is looking incredible! Local artist Jason King has added so much color, fun, and whimsy to the blacktop areas. The students are doing to love all the new, fun options for games (and don't tell the kids, but some of these also slide in some learning as well).

This project is just the first part of our Kindness for All initiative. Thanks to our families and supporters for donations that have allowed this dream to come alive!

06/19/2023

Things are starting to look much brighter on the Ada playground! Local artist Jason King has been working on adding color, interactive activities, and fun games for the kids. Later this summer, he'll be moving on to the inside of school with kindness murals and affirmations inside the classrooms.

06/19/2023

Part of Kindness for All is lifting up our Ada families and staff members during difficult times with something as simple as a card or cookies. Small acts of kindness can have big ripple effects.

If you would potentially be interested in helping out other members of our Ada community with something like a card or meal, please fill out the below Google form. When there is a need you may be able to fill, someone will reach out to you to see if you currently have time to assist.

You can also use this form if you know of a family who could use a meal, card, treat, or other assistance. Information is always confidential.

As a community, we are focused on lifting one another up. If you are interested in helping another Ada family with something, please fill out the below form. When a need arises, we will reach out to those who have offered assistance and see who may be able to help at that time. By filling out the fo...

06/19/2023

WZZM 13 aired a story about Kindness for All in April. We are so thankful we can share our mission with the community at large.

Remembering the lives of three former Ada students is what's behind the project. Organizers hope that the initiative will bring joy to students and community members

06/19/2023

Fox 17 aired a story about Kindness for All in April. Many thanks to them for sharing our mission.

An initiative launched this week by a Forest Hills elementary school aims to build a nicer, more empathetic community and honor three children connected to the school who have died in recent years.

06/19/2023

Ada Elementary is excited to announce Kindness for All. This new initiative will focus on kindness within the entire Ada community (families, staff, students) with a large focus on self kindness. The ALL in the title refers to three members of our Ada family who left our world too soon, but were known for spreading kindness.

The “A” stands for Audrey Jandernoa, who was an ECSE student that passed away in January of 2018. Her family has launched the Red Glasses Movement and their mantra is “Live boldly, Love big. Pass it on.” Our library at Ada also has a moveable book cart with ECSE level books that is dedicated to Audrey.

The first “L” stands for Lucas VanSprange, who was struck by a car in January of 2015 and passed away. Lucas was an Ada student and his siblings have also gone through Ada Elementary. Lucas’ family has channeled their energy into Live Like Lucas to empower youth to spread love and kindness. The buddy bench on the playground is also dedicated to Lucas.

The second “L” stands for Luke Balstad, the son of Kim VanAntwerp, Ada’s former principal, who passed away in November of 2022. Luke was known to leave notes for our staff when visiting school, help at the Carnival or any other event where manpower was needed, and to the world at large, he passed on kindness and understanding. Luke’s family intends to channel their energy into keeping Luke’s memory and legacy alive and this will just be one part.

By naming the program after Audrey, Lucas, and Luke, we want to honor the kindness they showed as members of the Ada community and keep their memories alive at Ada. Our ultimate goal is to build a kinder, more empathetic community and to work in conjunction with programs that are already in place at Ada and new ones that may be launched by the district in the future.

In our initial launch, we have a variety of exciting projects planned — some of which will have a big visual impact on Ada and others that will work in smaller ways. They include:
• Adding painted designs to the playground blacktop including games kids can play together, positive phrases and sensory activities with local artist Jason King.
• Adding self affirmations, positive messages, and artwork to classrooms and public bathrooms with local artist Jason King. • Renaming and increasing the school emergency fund to help with smaller needs while also remaining available to help with larger, urgent needs.
• Asking members of the community to help when families need a pick me up with cookies, a card, or a simple check-in.
• Funding small kindness projects for the community at large and encouraging classrooms to come up with their own ideas.

We will be relying on families within the commnity to come together to support other families with both big and small needs. Sometimes, things may be anonymous and sometimes names may be attached, but the goal is to spread kindness to all, including one’s self.