"Each year, Sidwell Friends School, a PK-12 independent Quaker institution in Washington, DC, sends a holiday video message as a way to promote unity and goodwill to the full community of students, parents and guardians, faculty, staff, and alumni. Beginning the school year with “kindness, always kindness,” a motto created by a Sidwell Friends kindergarten class, it was only fitting to end 2021 on the same note.
In a normal year, a holiday video production would have entailed hiring freelancers to collaborate on storyboards, finding participants (i.e., students, teachers, administrators), several days of shooting, a musical score, and extensive editing and vetting. However, as a new variant of the COVID-19 virus began to rapidly spread, the challenge was to produce the project completely in house, with little time, scavenged props, one amazing staff member in a fox suit, and no budget.
Taking inspiration from the Upper School’s Random Acts of Fun and Kindness club, the result was “Let Kindness Soar,” the story of the school’s mascot, Star the Fox, on a quest to share magical notes of kindness with the school community."
From the Judges
Christmas is about love and the message of sharing kindness and caring is so good. It is a masterclass in storytelling, camera work, and editing. Great to tie the concept to the theme from the year. It's something that the kindergarten class no doubt will remember for years.
