Jarrett Payton visits St. Thomas of Villanova
Payton, the son of the late Bears quarterback Walter Payton, also shared stories about his father and his childhood during his school visit. In 2011, Payton and his wife Trisha founded the Jarrett Payton foundation after he retired from the NFL. The JFP mission is to positively impact …"the lives of children and adolescents physically, emotionally, and psychologically."
The program was coordinated by St. Thomas of Villanova Social Worker, Lori Smithe, who works to address social and emotional concerns for students by providing SEL opportunities to whole classes, small groups, and individuals as necessary.
Smithe noted the many valuable lessons and messages Payton shared with students, including the importance of "showing up" and working hard to achieve your goals and finding your passion or motivation for getting up each and every morning. In an effort to teach antibullying, Payton invited a 6th grade student up to the front of the room to demonstrate the ways that we can find commonalities between us, if we just reach out and get to know somebody else.
Payton also encouraged students to leave their own legacy. Reminding students that our words and our actions are a reflection of who we are, Payton asked students to think about how they would like to be remembered someday.
Smithe explained that students will continue to reflect on some of these points in their monthly social emotional learning sessions and during an upcoming fundraiser during Catholic School's Week, January 26-February1, 2020. Payton's visit served as a kick off for this special week-long fundraiser, Pennies for Paints, where students will collect pennies to provide paints and paintbrushes for "Coming Up Rosies" smile kits to be delivered to children's hospitals.
The smile kits offer children an opportunity to create artwork and have it made into a scarf. Coming Up Rosie's mission is to make all bald children smile and feel confident, despite their differences.
As a part of this service project, St. Thomas of Villanova students will also create smile notes to be delivered with Rosie's smile kits.
St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic School is located at 1141 E. Anderson Drive, Palatine, IL 60074 and offers full and half day preschool programs for three-and four-year-old students, as well as full day kindergarten through 8th Grade. For more information or to schedule a tour, call (847) 358-2110 or visit the school's website, www.stvschool.org