On Monday, November 13th, Roslyn elementary school students kicked off World Kindness Day with a new initiative called the E Pledge—created by Gary and Lynne Falkowitz in honor of their son Ethan. World Kindness Day is an international holiday observed annually on November 13 as a day devoted to the positive potential of large and small acts of kindness. 

The Falkowitzs participated in school-wide assemblies at Harbor Hill and East Hills Elementary Schools to share stories about their son and promote the importance of kindness. Mr. Falkowitz encouraged students to take the E-Pledge and took a group selfie with them. Videos were shared to show examples of simple acts of kindness. To close out each assembly, the Falkowitzs led students through the hallways, holding the #wEpledgekindness banner that was given to the schools.

For the next 100 days, grades 1-5 will be encouraged to memorialize acts of kindness that they witness by writing the students' names on a small paper heart, stating how they saw that student being kind. At Heights School, kindergarten students will write on butterflies. The hearts and butterflies will be collected from classrooms weekly and then displayed as an art installation in the hallway of each school next February.