Acts of Kindness makes its full circle into the hands of Santa Ana High School students

Jessica Ochoa
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

Who would of thought that a gracious act of kindness would lead to the sponsoring of four amazing Santa Ana High School students, to start the school year off on the right foot with a pair of brand new shoes. With heartfelt warmth of appreciation and gratitude, four Halos Extended Learning participants from Santa Ana High School were surprised in the first days of school with a pair of shoes.

Just like many other professionals in the field of afterschool programs across the nation, Halos Extended Learning at Santa Ana High School was extending a token of appreciation to their staff on behalf of the Santa Ana Unified School District, Extended Learning Department leadership team, when they posted a picture on social media with the hash tag, #heartofafterschool.

Little did Halos Extended Learning Program know that the National Afterschool Association launched a hash tag social media contest #heartofafterschool for Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week, courtesy of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, as they randomly selected and recognized various afterschool programs across the nation.

Through the courtesy of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, Halos Extended Learning Program won a $200.00 voucher. With the voucher, the program was able to pay it forward to their own #heartofafterschool who are the students. The Halos Program is committed to providing a quality, safe and nurturing environment before and during out-of-school hours to all students. “Developing systems of motivation, acknowledgement and praise is important,” commented Jeff Bishop, Principal of Santa Ana High School. “We are fortunate to have Eddie and Jessica and their Halos staff working with the administration team, parents and students to build culture of excellence and affirmation.”

Acts of kindness makes its full circle into the hands of Santa Ana High School students as the Halos leadership team led by Jessica Ochoa and Eduardo Rocha, both Site Coordinators and the Santa Ana High School Administration team surprised each recipient in their classrooms. “The students are the gems of our program,” stated Jessica. Eduardo agreed as well, also commenting, “the students were selected based on who attends our program regularly, are role models to their peers, and through their leadership go above and beyond. This was simply a small token of appreciation.” As the team made their way across campus, Anahy, a student recipient shared, “when the Halos staff walked into my classroom with balloons and a gift in their hands, I didn’t know what to expect. When they called my name, I felt very special because I knew they valued my hard work and how important I am for them.”

The showers of comments kept spilling over as the team made their way from classroom to classroom. Nicholas, a recipient of the acts of kindness shared so graciously, “the shoes were wonderful and made me feel happy. They have taught me if you focus on what you want to be and work hard, you’ll achieve it.”

Hard work does not go unseen for these four, among many other gems of our school community. They are the shining gems and great examples of excellence that exist not only in the Santa Ana Unified School District schools but in our inner-city community. Jennifer Cisneros and Michael Baker, Extended Learning Management team agreed, “this is what our Extended Learning Programs are all about: making an impact with students who in turn make an impact on others and their community.”

When providing authentic relationships and partnerships with our students, parents and the greater community, success is an understatement here at Santa Ana High School. Success is only the beginning to the triumphs of greater victory and that’s what makes us unique. We are Santa Ana High School, We are SAUSD! Somos Familia!

By. Jessica Ochoa

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