Local kids participate in the Great Kindness Challenge

Local students are discovering lots of ways to spread kindness around their schools this week.

Echo Lake Elementary School in Shoreline is just one of a number of local schools taking part in "The Great Kindness Challenge," a week-long event aimed at empowering students to create a culture of kindness.

The school kicked things off with an all-school assembly on Monday.  Several University of Washington athletes spoke at the assembly, talking about the power of kindness.

Teachers say it's one of the best weeks of the whole school year.

"It's just kind of a big celebration for the week.  Kindness is one of our character traits here at Echo Lake, so kindness is really important to us," says 2nd grade teacher Kelly Dillon.

"So, it's just reminding them that they're able to share the kindness.with everyone else," adds 5th grade teacher Karen Nicholson.

The kids receive a checklist of kindness challenges to complete, including asking new students to have lunch with them, saying 'please' and 'thank you,' and hold the door open for someone.

For more information on The Great Kindness Challenge, click here.