Elementary students at St. Peter’s School learned important lessons for success as well as some yo-yo tricks during a presentation from The NED Show on Tuesday afternoon.
The NED message – never give up, encourage others and do your best – was communicated to St. Peter’s kindergarten through sixth grade classes by presenter Chad Adams, who has been doing The NED Show for the past 10 years. Adams regaled the students with tales of big green aliens and his friend “Ned” while simultaneously performing yo-yo tricks and spreading his positive message.
“As I’m doing yo-yo tricks they’re going to be wowed, and that gives me the leeway to actually talk to them,” Adams explained before the show. “We’re going to tie in anti-bullying and diversity, and treating others with respect no matter who they are. They’ll come away with a different way to present things they’re already learning in school.”
The NED theme appeared again and again in Adams’ message as he encouraged St. Peter’s students to become “champions” both inside and outside the classroom. Adams encouraged all students to think of something they’d like to get better at in school and in their home life, and to apply the NED method to achieve their goals.
“Champions set goals and treat people nicely,” said Adams to the students. “We have to decide to have a champion attitude.”
Third grade teacher Ashley Rastorfer said she had prepared her students about The NED Show before Tuesday’s presentation, and her class brainstormed ideas for how they could help others and encourage each other in the classroom.
“I think it sends a positive message to the kids, and it’s useful to them in the classroom and outside the classroom,” said Rastorfer. “They were really excited. I think they could connect to it. He showed a lot of examples and it was interesting, and he related to them. I think it was really beneficial.”
Principal Madalyn Bauer said The NED Show actually contacted her about coming to St. Peter’s, and explained their pay-it-forward experience. A school can host The NED Show at no cost, thanks to a school previously hosting The NED Show and participating in the pay-it-forward fundraiser. After hosting The NED Show at St. Peter’s for no cost, the school will now hold a pay-it-forward fundraiser to pay for the next school’s NED presentation. For the next five days, yo-yos will be on sale at St. Peter’s as part of their fundraiser.
“I called back twice to clarify that all I have to do is sell yo-yos for five days to have this message,” said Bauer with a laugh. “I loved (the show), I thought the kids were very involved and enthusiastic and I thought the message was really clear.”
Besides being used for cool tricks, Adams also used the yo-yo as a metaphor: if you throw positive words out into the world, positive words will come right back.
“I love kids, I’ve worked with kids a long time and I think this is a very powerful message,” said Adams. “It speaks truth to the kids.”
“I think in the elementary level the message of anti-bullying and encouraging others and doing the very best you can and not giving up is definitely something that’s got to be implanted at a young age, if in fact we’re going to carry those positive messages through as adults,” added Bauer. “If it doesn’t start to happen in the foundation, which is the elementary, then it’s not going to happen.”
