Dude... Be nice!

In 2017, Texas FCCLA encouraged partnership with the apparel brand, Dude. Be Nice. This brand sells clothing with uplifting messages and encourages students nationwide to recognize people or staff members at their school whose hard work goes unappreciated.

Last year we wrapped up Dude Be Nice week by recognizing Mr. Cheven and Mr. Perez (our campus custodial ALL STARS) with surprise pep-rallies during lunch. Students wrote notes and made signs thanking them for their service and gave them each a gift basket expressing their appreciation.

This year our FCCLA chapter promoted our "Dude Be Nice Week" campaign for the second time. We spent the week leading events and initiatives to stress the importance of treating others with respect and kindness.

(Fun fact: This event is COMPLETELY student-led, yall).

Here's a brief outline of events that took place:

Mon: Poster Campaign: spread the love to campus groups and organizations by posting signs in the hallway.

Tue: Be nice to HMS teachers/staff members by writing your favorite teacher a note from the heart.

Wed: Be nice to each other by grabbing an inspiring sticky note from the bulletin board! Keep one for yourself or share with a friend.

Thur: Be nice to the community by showing appreciation to men and women at the fire department.

Fri: Celebrate Mrs. Dora with a surprise parade/DBN Finale.

I think we can all agree that our future can potentially look VERY different if we stress the importance of empathy and treating each other with respect at an early age. As cheesy as it may sound, these kids ARE the future and extremely capable of making big changes in society with a little nudge from the adults they trust and respect.

One of those adults is Mrs. Dora Wong.

This lady is one of a kind, let me tell you! She was chosen for our Dude Be Nice finale this year because of the countless hours she spends making sure our school runs smoothly and our students have opportunities to grow. She has the toughest job on campus-- the job of both a Principal's Secretary AND a book keeper-- and does it well each and every day. Not to mention all of the time and effort she spends building relationships with students!

All of that hard work does not go unnoticed so students chose to throw Mrs. Dora a campus wide parade! She was taken on a walk through the halls of HMS and honored with cheers, chants and signs all the way through.

At the conclusion of the parade, the students had the library decorated and 3 amazing surprises waiting for her.

1. A video made by students and staff expressing their gratitude for Dora.

2. A table filled with letters, notes and gifts of appreciation.

3. Her very best friends, her MOM and sister!!

Surprise!

Crowned.

Celebrity Status

Celebrate!

Campus Hero

Pure Happiness

Campus Celeb

My second mom

Final Surprise

As you can tell, this event was a HUGE success. Mrs. Dora was blown away by the thoughtfulness of the students of HMS and shed quite a few tears along the way.

I'm unbelievably proud of all of the hard work the students put forth to elevate the energy on campus all week. It's a special thing to see teenagers come together to support a cause bigger than themselves and to love on someone who deserves it so greatly!

Mrs. Dora was the most deserving person I can think of and all of the students' hard work paid off. I feel so extremely blessed to get to lead such an amazing group of students to spread the message of positivity and kindness throughout campus this week, PLUS they loved and recognized someone near and dear to my own heart!

There is hope for our future yet.

Until next time.

XOXO