The BEADS OF COURAGE® program has taken the Calais School by storm! Today, as we celebrate World BEADS OF COURAGE® Day and approach our second year in an exclusive pilot program nationwide, we would like to share the heartfelt experiences of Calais Students Carly S and Sal C and what the BEADS OF COURAGE® program means to them. Calais Student Matthew O (pictured above next to Carly S) is excited to celebrate this special day and looks forward to another year of BEADS OF COURAGE® at Calais!

Carly S on Beads of Courage®

Q. How do you feel about being part of this program?

A. Being a part of this program makes me feel really special, especially since I was the first student at a school in the world to be a part of the program. The Calais School was the first ever school in the world to do The Beads of Courage program in a school setting, and I was honored to be chosen to be the first person at Calais to join the program.

Q. How do you feel when you are gifted a bead? 

A. When I am gifted a bead, I feel extremely proud of myself because I am being recognized for something special I may have done for myself or others.

Q. What does this program mean to you? 

A. Before the program came to the school, I heard of it being used in the hospital with kids, and I thought it was a great idea. Being a student with Type 1 Diabetes and having experience with hospital settings, I never thought about it being used at a school. But, when Ms Shevchik and Ms V shared the idea with me, I realized how much this program could help our school. Because of this, The Beads of Courage program means so much to me because it has helped so many kids feel proud of themselves for any achievements they may have accomplished.

Q. What was your favorite bead to be gifted? Tell us why you were gifted the bead and from whom. 

A. I currently have two different strings full of beads, one with general beads, like holiday beads, and one with special beads. On my special bead string, I have some glass selection beads, ceramic special selection beads, and some colored beads. My favorite bead I have received is a blue glass bead, and the inside kind of looks like waves in the ocean, which I absolutely loved because blue is my favorite color and I thought the bead was beautiful.  I received this bead from Ms V for being courageous in teaching the school about JDRF, or juvenile diabetes research foundation, and also raising money for JDRF. JDRF is extremely important to me, so teaching the school about what they do to help kids like me is very important to me. In addition, it is also very important to me to teach as many people as I can the differences between Type 1 Diabetes, and Type 2 Diabetes, since most people only know about Type 2, and they are very different diseases. Being recognized for doing this made me feel very special, and I was glad to hear from teachers and students after my presentation that they were interested and learned from it. Also, blue is the color representing JDRF, so I was especially happy to hear that the bead was blue!

Q. Do you want to be gifted more beads this year? 

A. I would love to be gifted more beads this year, because every time I receive a bead it makes me feel excited and proud of myself, and I would love to grow my collection of beads.

Q. Is there anything you would like to share with others about the program? 

A. I would like to share that each and every bead is unique in its own way, so no matter what kind of bead you may receive, you should always be proud of yourself for receiving it because they are all so special. In addition, when you are given a bead, it shows that you are being recognized by others, which is something that a lot of people don’t realize is important to them until it is pointed out. For example, in the hospital, when someone receives medicine, it is important for the kid to receive a bead because it’s recognizing the kid for being brave, which makes them feel really good about themselves. In addition, an example at our school would be if someone is feeling anxious, and usually they throw a tantrum when they are anxious, but on this given day, they take deep breaths and take a break. This might be extremely hard for them, which is why it is definitely worthy of a bead. This makes them proud of themselves for taking a big step. It also shows them that everyone is there to help them, and that they are proud of them, which helps us as the students want to work harder.

 

Sal C on Beads of Courage®

Q. How do you feel about being part of this program?

A. I like the Beads of Courage® Program.

 

Q. How do you feel when you are gifted a bead? 

A. I feel good when I get a bead.

 

Q. What does this program mean to you? 

A.The bead that was my favorite to receive was for moving up a reading level with Ms. Nelson.

 

Q. Do you want to be gifted more beads this year? 

A.I want to be gifted more beads this year because I really like them.

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“BEADS OF COURAGE® is a federally registered trademark of Beads of Courage, Inc., and is used under license. We are proud to be the first to provide the BEADS OF COURAGE® program pilot for emotional support in an educational setting, which is owned by and licensed from Beads of Courage, Inc. dba Center for Arts in Nursing. For more information on BEADS OF COURAGE®, visit: www.beadsofcourage.org/thecalaisschool”