All-school assembly caps a year of Rachel's Challenge at NBAMS

North Branch Area Middle School celebrated a year of Rachel's Challenge with an all-school assembly June 1. Rachel's Challenge is the foundation started by the father of Rachel Scott, who was killed in the Columbine shooting and who spread a message of kindness in her life.

"We met to celebrate the accomplishments of the entire student body over this year's kindness initiative," said middle school counselor Roberta Backus. From September to April, students created a "link" representing single acts of kindness. Those links, now a huge chain, was piled up at the front of the gym for students to see. Along with kindness links, students saved pop tabs from January to April to donate to Ronald McDonald House Charities. In all, over 179 pounds of pop tabs were donated.

Miles Mann, 8, and the pop tab "ambassador" for Ronald McDonald Charities, was present at the assembly to congratulate students and to accept the pop tabs on behalf of the charity. Mann travels all over promoting the pop tab program and pulls a mini-Ronald McDonald House in parades all over the tri-state area.