MANTECA — Students at McParland Elementary School are taking small steps these days to make their school a better, kinder, more charitable place.

    Little projects are brewing across campus everywhere.

   Employees in the school office received letters thanking them for their work. At the students’ request, inspirational quotes hang on classroom doors. And old sweaters and scarves from the Lost and Found box hang along the school’s fences, awaiting their rightful owners. If unclaimed, they will be shipped off to local charities to keep others warm.

    Behind all the niceness is a project known as Rachel’s Challenge, an assembly-based program that fights cliques, bullies and hatred in the schools.

    Rachel Scott was just 17 years old when she was killed in the now-infamous Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999. After her death, her family started Rachel’s Challenge, using her journals to spread the teenager’s message of optimism and caring.

    “I have this theory, that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same,” Rachel said, according to www.rachelschallenge.com.

    Seventh- and eighth-grade McParland students learned about the five steps to the Challenge at an assembly on March 7: eliminate prejudice, dare to dream by setting goals and keeping a journal, choose your influences, use kind words and start a chain reaction.

    After the assembly, teachers chose a core group of 40 students to lead the school in brainstorming fundraisers, planning school events and generally setting an example of friendliness and good citizenship.
Angelo Zerbini, 13, is one of a dozen students charged with making new students feel at home at McParland during the tough transition to a new school.

    While there haven’t been any new students to welcome just yet, the committee has laid out plans to give each newbie a “buddy”, to help guide them through the transition. It’s all about making life a little easier for one another.
    “It’s about starting a chain reaction. It means putting our hand out for help, and helping a person up when they’ve fallen down”, Angelo said.

    The projects will keep going throughout the school year, and hopefully beyond, said principal Dale Borgeson.