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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Calendar: Saturday, Oct. 25 Helman students illustrate kindness, love Newly renovated Ashland Hills hosts open house SOU's 'Count Me In' campaign raises $210,000 Aquatics backer announces write-in candidacy for Parks & Rec board Education Helman students illustrate kindness, love SOU's 'Count Me In' campaign raises $210,000 Fun, fundraising and art at Helman Elementary School Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida Goal not reached, but don't count out 'Count Me In' yet Environment Rite Aid cub well, could come back to southern Oregon Report: Smaller streams need further protection Bear cub wanders into Rite Aid Kalmiopsis' future at stake if mining goes forward Fires and forests evolved together, but now people are in the mix Business Newly renovated Ashland Hills hosts open house Hot Stuff Espresso Blue Toba erupts onto dining scene Interim president leads in a different direction Silvio Calabi: Acura’s 2015 TLX is two cars in one Politics and elections Aquatics backer announces write-in candidacy for Parks & Rec board Richardson accuses Kitzhaber of 'corruption' in final debate Stricker steps down from Talent council Merkley-Wehby to debate in Medford Ashland land use rule review continues State News Nation - World Obituaries Ronald J. 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Our View: Fix the 'free speech zone' ... Teaching the First Amendment ... Calendar: Saturday, Oct. 25 ... Our View: Fix the 'free speech zone' ... Teaching the First Amendment ... KESSLER HEADED FOR NEPAL Helman students illustrate kindness, love Art Walk helps teacher raise funds for Umbrella Foundation By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 24, 2014 @ 7:58 pm By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 24, 2014 @ 7:58 pm » Social News When Ally Kessler asked students at Helman Elementary to illustrate love, kindness and friendship, she wasn’t sure what to expect. What the kids came up with, said the special-ed teacher, was nothing less than an inspiration. “They’re all absolutely beautiful in their own way,” Kessler said, “There was a fifth-grader who illustrated a beautiful dragon with levels of art that I couldn't even comprehend at her age — her love for noodles and drawing, and then she also illustrated why it’s important to be a good friend.” Friendship, in all its iterations, was a popular theme during Helman’s Art Walk for Kindness Wednesday night in the Helman gym, where friends and family of the children browsed through rows of drawings hung up for display. Each piece was available to be printed on mugs, magnets or notecards, with the proceeds going to the Umbrella Foundation. Kessler will be leaving Helman next week and in December will fly to Nepal to work as a volunteer for the Umbrella Foundation, a nonprofit that works to reduce the impacts of human trafficking, war and poverty on children in Nepal. The goal Wednesday was to raise $2,500 for an orphanage. According to Kessler’s fundraising website she had raised $1,010 as of 1 p.m. Thursday. Those wishing to make a donation can visit https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/teaching-friendship-love-and-kindness. Thursday’s Art Walk also included a friendly competition with a somewhat less-than-desirable reward. Four teachers were on hand to take cup donations, and the one who ended up with the largest pot was placed in a chair on the stage in the back of the gym and plugged in the face with whip cream pies, which were hurled by a few lucky students. Fittingly, Kessler, who spearheaded the event, was named the “winner.” She climbed the stairs that led onto the stage, slipped on a yellow garbage bag-like slicker and sat still as eight students let fly. Only one gentle warning was offered over the loudspeaker: “We are going to be gentle with our pies.” They were. Still, seven throws hit their target, but in fairness more than half of those were point-blank face smears. Kira Cailliet, 8, a third-grader at Helman, was one of the lucky few who were chosen. She took advantage, walking right up to Kessler and smashing the mini-pie into her goggles as the audience howled. “I was going to throw it until I saw the boy put it on her face, so I put it all over her eyes,” Cailliet said. “I really wanted to eat the pie but I really wanted to put it in Ally’s face more.” A few others followed suit, then Kessler was set free to a rousing ovation. All in all, she said, the event was a success. And though the pies proved to be a hit, Kessler, who plans on working as a teacher again after earning a master’s degree, said the art work was the highlight of the evening. Every grade was represented, so the craftsmanship on display ranged from your garden variety stick figures to gloriously detailed landscapes. Regardless of how sophisticated the drawings themselves were, the written explanations that sort of subtitled most of them were heartfelt. Wren, a kindergartner, drew a boy wearing a purple shirt surrounded by trees, his arms spread wide next to a tent. The message underneath read: “I gave away a baby tent to someone who needed it.” Another by Alana, a fifth-grader, featured a girl wearing a bathing suit and standing on a shore reaching down to help up another girl out of the water. The caption read: “Me helping my friend when she fell in the reservoir.” Aspen, a third-grader, drew two girls holding hands inside a heart of pink, green and yellow water-color hues. The caption was simple: “You should be loved.” Kessler said she provided few parameters, and most of the students let their imaginations run wild without much prompting. “It wasn’t even a lesson, it was a discussion about what is kindness, what is love, what is friendship,” she said. “What does it mean, why is it important to share all over the world? So these kids mainly actually kind of taught me. I was the student in this. “So then I was like, ‘OK, let’s illustrate this. What does kindness mean to you? Show me what it means.’ And the way these kids interpreted everything is pretty incredible.” Joe Zavala can be reached at 541-776-4469 or [email protected]. By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Posted Oct. 24, 2014 @ 7:58 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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