When Wading River School fourth grade teacher Ms. Emily Kravitz had an idea to create kindness rocks with her students, the project made its way down the school hallway to special education teacher Ms. Lynda Kranidis and her students. School nurse Ms. Anna Andrews-Acker also heard of the plan to add the rocks to the school’s entry and to the gardens dedicated to former student Thomas Cutinella, and secured beautiful chrysanthemums from Andrews Family Farm in Wading River.

On a beautiful autumn day, the students, staff and Principal Mr. Louis Parrinello paired up and learned from Ms. Andrews-Acker how to gently remove the plants from their containers, dig holes big enough for them to thrive and surrounded them with pretty painted rocks, reminding them to be kind and share in the legacy that Thomas left to the school community.