When the Corey Academy of Fine Arts and Dual Language PTA was brainstorming on what to do for the school's Kindness Week, they came up with a number of activities and ways to teach this underused but basic character trait that is quite simple.

Kindness is free.

Kindness, they wanted to show students, costs virtually nothing to pay forward.

So Corey Academy students, parents and staff went on almost a kindness binge in late February, stitching together a week so jammed pack that everyone heard the message loud and clear.

Under the theme "Kindness is Free So Sprinkle That Stuff Everywhere!" Corey presented four grade-level assemblies featuring AISD Trustee John Hibbs and his wife Mary, who spoke of the power of words and how they can help and harm, especially on social media sites.

Corey Principal Dr. Matt Varnell played the guitar and taught the students a song and participated in the "Kindness Rocks" project.

The mother of a Corey teacher created a painted rock riverbed in the courtyard where 700 colorful river rocks were displayed, one for each student, staff, teacher and administrator. The rocks had uplifting and encouraging words painted on them.

All week the school presented spirit days: rainbow for sprinkle kindness everywhere, neon for kindness shines bright, red and pink for Corey loves kindness, superhero for be a kindness superhero, and Corey shirts for Corey Cubs are kind to each other!

"We also had acts of service including each student arriving to a personalized note on their desks," Corey PTA President Gara Hill said. "We had a big positive post-it note display in the cafeteria to build on throughout the week."

Even the bathrooms were kind-friendly, with some positive mantras displayed. Teachers had a cookie decorating station, and all of this culminated with a screening of the movie "Wonder."

"We were clearly over-the-moon about the week," Hill said.