An example of a Sunshine Basket given to a fellow teacher is shown. (Cranberry Chronicles staff photo)
By MADALYNN BUNYAK
Student contributor
Sunshine has been spotted in more places than just the sky lately at Cranberry High School.
A tradition from one teacher to another, the Sunshine Basket, is full of objects personal to the individual receiving it. The basket is given to staff members who are going through a rough time, or simply need to be cheered up. It is put together by multiple teachers, all contributing items they believe will make the recipient happy or feel good.
This positive tradition was started by Special Education teacher Paula Turk. It received its name the ¨Sunshine Basket¨ because the first basket given was filled with all yellow items.
When asked why she started it, Turk explains that she was simply ¨trying to look for a way to put sunshine in someone’s dreary day.¨
She also explained that it is ¨definitely worth the look on their face when they get it.¨
Shelly Wade, the first recipient of the basket, pointed out that she ¨loves her school family¨ and that it really is not like this in other school districts.
There is a lot that students can learn from staff members that is not education related. The staff and teachers show great examples of kindness, love, and support for one another.
Turk mentioned that the Sunshine Basket really doesn’t take much. Good deeds and acts of kindness don’t have to be big or intricate.
Simple things can make all the difference and possibly put a little bit of sunshine in someone’s cloudy day.
Madalynn Bunyak is a student at Cranberry High School and a member of Cranberry Chronicles, the school’s journalism/publications group.
