Five-year olds are very impressionable. It is a critical point in a child's life to establish a love for learning. Even more so, it is a time to instill important lessons that will set them up to be the next generation of community leaders.
 
Enter Benson Primary School's Kind Cats program.
 
Born three years ago, Kind Cats is an afterschool program that teaches the values of respect, responsibility, compassion, empathy and kindness through character development activities, lessons and community service projects.
 
Through Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers, Melissa Newton acquired necessary funding to purchase social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum and supplies for character development lessons to continue to push Kind Cats forward.
 
"I love how easy it is to apply for Wishes for Teachers. This program is so fantastic because it's allowed me to do so much with Kind Cats that I couldn't have done without it," Newton said. "My classroom is my happy place. I get so much joy in being here and it doesn't feel like a job. This is what I love to do."
 
Teaching may be what Newton loves to do today, but that first became a reality 16 years ago after a career working for nonprofits, including serving as CEO of an animal rescue organization and a wedding planner at the Phoenix Zoo.
 
Newton, now a seventh-year kindergarten teacher at Benson Primary School, initially entered the profession as a special education teacher at her alma mater, Benson High School. Five years later, she moved to the primary school to teach special education for preschool through second grade before her current role.
 
Originally hesitant to transition from high school to primary school, Newton discovered that kindergarten is where she belongs. The change may seem drastic, but Newton thinks otherwise.
 
"(Kindergarteners) are the same, they just have smaller bodies and nice mouths," Newton says with a laugh. "Little kids just want to learn. They're like little sponges. Kindergarten sets the foundation for the entire educational career. If it doesn't go well, it sets the tone for how they feel about school for the rest of their lives."
 
As evident by her three master's degrees, Newton has always loved learning. It is why transitioned to become a teacher. It is also why Kind Cats is so important to her.
 
She got the idea for Kind Cats while attending the Golden Apple Awards, where she was listening to nominees talk about their service projects. Having served for nonprofit organizations, she questioned why five-year olds couldn't learn the concept of giving back at an early age.
 
Kind Cats is open to students in kindergarten, first and second grade who are nominated by their teachers. Students must demonstrate characteristics of responsibility, kindness and leadership. The idea is to build future leaders through once-a-week development lessons and service projects, both on campus and in the Benson community.
 
"We aim to inspire and motivate students to improve their behavior in hopes that they can get nominated to be part of the program," Newton said. "We have fun because it's after school. They don't want to do more worksheets, so we hide learning through arts and crafts, painting and cooking. They're learning, but we do it in a fun way."
 
One particular lesson, in connection with Thanksgiving, was on teaching the students to be thankful. The service project, which accompanies each lesson, was baking cookies for first responders who had to work on the holiday, in which the students delivered to the community's hospital and fire department.
 
With limited space – last year the program had 40 students – those not currently in Kind Cats vie for a spot. The best part is, it's not limited to the academic cream of the crop. The most important criteria are demonstrating the Kind Cats values.
 
"Those who are selected are the ones showing the character traits we want our students to represent," Newton said. "We have students who have IEPs (individualized education program) and learning disabilities. We're very inclusive and we have students who ask, 'how do I get to be part of Kind Cats?'"
 
Along with one other teacher, Newton runs Kind Cats, which was a finalist for Program of the Year in Cochise County across all K-12 schools last year.
 
That recognition, at least in part, would not have been possible without Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers. In fact, it was not the first time Newton was selected as a Wishes for Teachers recipient.
 
In 2021, Benson had her wish granted for the first time. She used the $2,500 she received to purchase flexible seating, including wobble chairs and cushions, along with sensory toys to promote a better learning environment in her classroom.
 
That is the beauty of Wishes for Teachers. Teachers may be selected more than once and their wish one year will benefit years of future students.
 
Teaching was not Newton's initial passion, but she could not be in a more rewarding profession now.
 
"Once you're in my class, you're my student and my child forever," Newton said. "We do more than teaching. We feed them, we tie shoes and we help them get dressed, and there's just so much that goes into teaching kindergarten.
 
"You build such a strong connection with these children. There are students who are graduating high school this year who I had when they were in the second grade and they still come back to see me. That warms my heart to know that I had an impact on them enough so that they still come back and say hello."
 
Applications for the 2024 Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program open next Tuesday, September 3. For more information, visit WishesForTeachers.org.