Kindness Retreat Resources
Resources to prepare for and extend the impact of your Youth Frontiers Kindness Retreat
- Before Your Kindness Retreat - Preparing for the Retreat
- Before Your Kindness Retreat - Informing Parents, Colleagues, and the Media
- Two Weeks After Your Kindness Retreat
- One Month After Your Kindness Retreat
- Two Months After Your Kindness Retreat
- Ongoing Follow-up Material
- Possible Curriculum Plans
- Submit Questions and Feedback
#1 - The Priority One Form
After you have booked a retreat, you must fill out a Priority One form. This form collects information about your school and your students to ensure that our staff arrives prepared and ready for a great day.
#2 - Kindness Prep Pack
The Kindness Prep Pack contains all of the information that you need to know to prepare your students and staff for a successful Kindness Retreat. Please read over all of the details carefully prior to your retreat. Click here for Kindness Assemblies. Click here for Kindness Concerts.
#3 - Recruit Small Group Leaders
An important component of the retreat day is the opportunity for participants to work in groups with volunteer small-group leaders. These mentors facilitate small-group discussions, encourage participation, act as positive role models and help break down social barriers at the school. Schools often use older high school students, parents, corporate volunteers or respected community members to mentor their students.
#1 - Inform Parents - Web Video
Send a link to this five-minute Parent Video of Youth Frontiers Founder and CEO, Joe Cavanaugh, explaining the core concepts of the retreat and providing questions for parents to process the experience with their kids.
#2 - Inform your Colleagues
The Kindness Retreat Primer is a detailed explanation of the retreat and the educational theories that support it. Learn language you can bring back to the hallways and classrooms to extend the impact of the program.
#3 - Inform the Media
Let the community know about the upcoming retreat and your efforts to build a positive school community. Fill in your school name and some other key information and then send this press release, created by a professional media relations consultant, to your local media outlets. Also, feel free to use this template for parent newsletters or district mailings. If you have questions, please call Ali at 952.922.0222.
Parent Letter
To continue the positive effects of the retreat experience, we believe it's important for the entire community to be involved in supporting and communicating the messages delivered on the retreat. Therefore, we've provided this parent letter, to be sent out after the retreat, that includes an overview of the retreat and some discussion questions. There is a generic PDF verison and a Microsoft Word version that can be updated with your school's information.
Two-Day Reflection Journal
The two-day journal exercise is a chance for students to reflect on the retreat immediately after it happened. Through writing and/or small-group discussion students solidify their role in making their school a healthy learning environment. Available in the following programs (click to download the files):
Say "Thanks!" to your Leaders
Download this Certificate of Appreciation to give to the leaders after your Kindness Retreat. A simple act that helps communicate appreciation and thanks!
30 Day Post-Retreat Student Survey
Want to measure the impact of the retreat? This 30-day Post-Retreat Survey measures shifts in cognition, attitude and perception of behavior as a result of the retreat experience. Download this PDF and have students fill out the survey. Send the completed surveys to Youth Frontiers at:
Youth Frontiers
6009 Excelsior Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Our Evaluation Coordinator will input the data and send a summary of results and analysis within two months of receiving the completed surveys.
Watch the Kindness Retreat Flashback Video
Remind your students of the lessons learned on their Kindness Retreat with a quick virtual visit from one of the speakers from the day. The videos highlight the different events of the retreat, ranging from the high-energy games to the idea of the Kindness Boomerang and being a hero for each other by using I.C.I.
Morning Meeting Conversation Starters
Delve deeper into the lessons of the Kindness Retreat with these thematically-grouped conversation starters. These are ideal for morning meetings activities. Questions are provided, with optional instructional ideas. Pick and choose which questions best suit your students' social/emotional learning needs. Available in the following programs (click to download the files):
Character Challenges
Teachers and elementary school staff can sign up for a weekly email to make their school a better place. Do this as a class activity, or share during morning announcements.
Plan A: Retreat
- One to two months before the retreat: Be sure to look through the Prep Pack and return your Priority One form. How is leader recruitment going?
- One week in advance of the retreat: Send the retreat primer to all of your colleagues whose students will be on the retreat. This outlines the learning objectives, teaching methodology and key language from the retreat so all school staff can understand what their kids have experienced and can continue using the language of the retreat throughout the school year.
- Day of the retreat: Have fun seeing your students in a new way.
- Two months after the retreat: Bring your retreat director back in the room with our Retreat Flashback Videos. These five-minute videos feature our dynamic YF staff asking your students to remember what they learned on the retreat and challenging them to live out kindness.
Plan B: Retreat Plus
- One to two months before the retreat: Be sure to look through the Prep Pack and return your Priority One form. How is leader recruitment going?
- One week in advance of the retreat: Send the retreat primer to all of your colleagues whose students will be on the retreat. This outlines the learning objectives, teaching methodology and key language from the retreat so all school staff can understand what their kids have experienced and can continue using the language of the retreat throughout the school year.
- Day of the retreat: Have fun seeing your students in a new way.
- Day after the retreat: Send a letter to parents telling them about the kids’ experience. Encourage parents to watch the web video and process the experience with their kids. The prep pack has a great template for you, but feel free to personalize it for your families.
- Weekly after the retreat: Sign up for YF Character Challenges to come to your email inbox. Discuss the quote or challenge with your students during homeroom or morning meeting.
- Two weeks after the retreat: During advisory time or homeroom, have students fill out the Two-Day Reflection Journal. This journal asks students to process the main themes of the retreat experience.
- One month after the retreat: Have students fill out the 30-Day Post-Retreat Survey. Send in the completed surveys to Youth Frontiers to tabulate and we’ll send you the results within two months of receiving the surveys. This data will help you better define how Youth Frontiers is supporting your character development and school climate improvement plans. Many schools use this information to help them get future funding for the retreats.
- Two months after the retreat: Bring your retreat director back in the room with our Retreat Flashback Videos. These five-minute videos feature our dynamic YF staff asking your students to remember what they learned on the retreat and challenging them to live out kindness.
Plan C: Retreat Ultimate
- One to two months before the retreat: Be sure to look through the Prep Pack and return your Priority One form. How is leader recruitment going?
- Two weeks in advance of the retreat: Using the template provided by YF, send a press release to your local paper about the retreat to garner community support for your efforts to create a culture of respect at school.
- One week in advance of the retreat: Send an email to parents/caregivers with the Parent Web Video to help explain why you have chosen Youth Frontiers and this retreat for your students. Use the letter included in the Prep Pack for ideas on language to get parents on board to ask their kids questions about the retreat and process the experience at home.
- One week in advance of the retreat: Send the retreat primer to all of your colleagues whose students will be on the retreat. This outlines the learning objectives, teaching methodology and key language from the retreat so all school staff can understand what their kids have experienced and can continue using the language of the retreat throughout the school year.
- Day of the retreat: Have fun seeing your students in a new way. Take pictures on the retreat and post them on your school website.
- Day after the retreat: Send a letter to parents telling them about the kids’ experience. Encourage parents to watch the web video and process the experience with their kids. Again, the prep pack has a great template for you, but feel free to personalize it for your families.
- Weekly after the retreat: If you do morning meeting or have advisory time, gather your students and ask questions from our "Morning Meeting Conversation Starters" packet. Developed by retired principal Ginny Clark, these questions ask students to think critically about values, attitudes and behaviors.
- Weekly after the retreat: Sign up for our Character Challenges to come to your email inbox and discuss the quote or challenge with your students during homeroom or morning meeting.
- Two weeks after the retreat: Send a thank you note to your leaders. Check out the template provided in the follow-up materials.
- Two weeks after the retreat: During advisory time or homeroom, have students fill out the Two-Day Reflection Journal. This journal asks students to process the main themes of the retreat experience.
- One month after the retreat: Have students fill out the 30-Day Post-Retreat Survey. Send in the completed surveys to Youth Frontiers to tabulate and we’ll send you the results within two months of receiving the surveys. This data will help you better define how Youth Frontiers is supporting your character development and school climate improvement plans. Many schools use this information to help them get future funding for the retreats.
- Two months after the retreat: Bring your retreat director back in the room with our Retreat Flashback Videos. These five-minute videos feature our dynamic YF staff asking your students to remember what they learned on the retreat and challenging them to live out kindness.
We'd love to hear your feedback!
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