The month of April was Autism Awareness Month and Watertown held Inclusion Week at WHS by focusing on spreading kindness to promote a more inclusive school environment. Inclusion Week incorporated two separate assemblies about autism and kindness. Inclusion Week encourages school-wide equality and diversity of all, in spite of intolerance. 

On April 19th, Sara Tarssik and Rachel Varatsis from Sun, Moon, and Stars came to WHS. Sun, Moon, and Stars is a local organization that provides support, events, and programs for children with autism. They spoke about awareness, acceptance, and the appropriate support for a person with autism.  Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition where the symptoms in autistic individuals vary. Recognizing ASD as a spectrum disorder brings us towards a more welcoming environment for all individuals. This presentation enlightened Watertown High’s students and staff on ASD and how to be more inclusive.

On April 25th, Brian Williams came to Watertown High School from the Think Kindness organization. Think Kindness’ message is to create movements of kindness within each school and community they visit. Brian’s encouraging speech at Watertown High School inspired students and staff to spread kindness. He has visited more than 250,000 schools worldwide and gathered more than 300,000 pairs of shoes for families and children in need all across the world. Brian’s first shoe donation happened in just fifteen days, and even now, he still continues to collect shoes and donate them to communities in need. He also challenged WHS to collect as many shoes as they could in a shoe drive run by Watertown Unified Sports. Brian aims to inspire young people to believe that everyone has the power to change someone’s life. This assembly wasn’t just a speech, it was an uplifting life story of morals. Brian truly sparked kindness through his own heartwarming stories that WHS will never forget.

During Autism Awareness Month, Watertown High School’s Inclusion Week focused on showing kindness to others. One of the most important things in life is kindness. Being good to the people around us can make a big change in our community. No matter who you may be, everyone has the power to make a positive difference in someone’s life.