Summer Solstice, 2020
Saturday, June 20, 2020 is the Summer Solstice. This is Be the Sun, Not the Salt’s FAVORITE day of the year. During the June Solstice each year,
the Sun is at its most northern point during the whole year! This is symbolic of what we should be paying attention to ALL the time, and
that’s Being the Sun, Not the Salt!
HOW DO YOU BE HELIOTROPIC?
You just be kind, be thoughtful, smile, say please and thanks, hold the door. Daily, the best way you know how to do, be thoughtful and kind to others, but do it intentionally, the key is to be intentional. This, by the way, is not about learning to be someone else. Being heliotropic is
about being yourself, the self that uplifts others version of yourself. Your best self.
Mrs. Leckner’s second-grade class from Cooper Elementary has been intentionally practicing being their best self and doing a lot of
talking and learning about what it looks like to Be the Sun. This great group of students from Spokane, WA has been reading Dr. Harry Cohen’s book, Be the Sun, Not the Salt since February of this year. Mrs. Leckner kicked off her Be the Sun, Not the Salt lesson plan with an assembly on National Random Acts of Kindness Day. The students read the book prior, and then every second-grade student at Cooper Elementary participated in acting out skits to share with the rest of the school.
Since the assembly, Mrs. Leckner’s second-grade class has really been leaning into Being the Sun, Not the Salt!
• They took turns reading a message from the book each morning over the loud speaker.
• They started each day with a message from the book. The whole class discusses what this means to them and what they can do today to be their BEST SELF! Before they go home for the day, they talk about what they did well, and what they struggled with.
During the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order in Washington State, they continued their intentional efforts to Be the Sun, and worked with Dr.
Harry Cohen to help us create the first every #BeHelio Calendar.
In speaking to some of the parents of the students, they say that their children have been noticeably more kind, helpful, and really wanting to
talk about how to Be the Sun at home as a family. Mrs. Leckner mentioned that she really noticed a positive difference in the students. Their
intentional effort has specifically resulted in the students being much more helpful, and patient with each other. Mrs. Leckner was especially
pleased to see, that through the 2nd grade classes efforts to really lean into Being the Sun, Not the Salt, the rest of the school drew interest, and many other students started asking questions, commenting on the positive things they saw, and being more kind themselves.
As a teacher, Mrs. Leckner said her favorite chapter was Be An Olympic Listener. She said that she used this often with her students this year
and plans to do so in the coming years as well. Part of being a careful listener, is being able to discern what people really need. This is
part of what Being the Sun is about. Giving people what they need. It is also knowing what is Sun to some people and what may be salt to others. Mrs. Leckner commented that her students were intentionally taking the time to really listen to others and that this was creating a more positive, caring culture throughout the whole school.
We appreciate the efforts these wonderful students are making to make the world a better place, through Being the Sun, Not the Salt as often
as they can. We are very grateful for their efforts and the input they gave us to help create the first edition of the #BeHelio Calendar. This
will be posted on our website bi-monthly, and will be a feature in our newsletters moving forward.