Spring at any high school is an exciting time, but it can also be full of situations in which students feel tense, pressured or suffer from low self-esteem.

Principal Karen Kraft of Lone Star High School wants to infuse her campus with kindness and compassion as students look ahead to events like prom and graduation.

Kraft had only good things to say about the message of the Rachel’s Challenge Chain Reaction program as she watched teachers and students gaining tools they will need in the coming months to reach out to students who need understanding. The school has been using the concepts of Rachel’s Challenge since its opening in 2010.

The Rachel’s Challenge Chain Reaction program offers training to help teachers and students build a climate of compassion in school, Kraft said. Though videos, communication training and games designed to build trust among students and teachers, Lone Star is working to cause a chain reaction of kindness throughout the campus.

The “Chain Reaction of Kindness” comes from the journals of the late Rachel Scott, one of the high school students shot 14 years ago at Columbine High School. Her death has resulted in a nationwide program promoting kindness and compassion in schools.

Kraft says the Rachel’s Challenge program to improve campus climate is an ongoing process at Lone Star.

“We sent a team to Rachel’s Challenge Summit this summer," Kraft said. "We brought the full presentation back to our students this past fall and we implemented the Chain Reaction program. We want to ensure that our student body can be compassionate and understanding to one another."

Laughter filled the school auditorium recently as a group of teachers and students, including members of the Friends of Rachel Club and the School Climate Committee, warmed up with games such as rock, paper, scissors and birdie on a perch. Losers of the birdie game had to eat a warm prune.

But training took a more serious turn as the group learned ways to reach out to others, listen and feel empathy. Former college and professional football player Cody Hodges, now a Rachel’s Challenge trainer, shared his story with students, revealing how he once found his only self-worth in football and struggled to earn his father’s love.

Hodges warned students to be on the lookout for bullying in the coming months. Bullying isn’t always the obvious example of the big kid picking on the little kid, he said.

“Bullying can be gossip, sarcasm, teasing and put-downs,” Hodges said.  He helped students work through listening exercises by sitting knee-to-knee in conversations.

The Rachel’s Challenge team cautioned students to be aware their body language when interacting with fellow students and teachers.

“Body language is 80 percent of communication,” the trainers explained. “Your expression and how you sit and stand when listening to someone is important."

Following the training, students and teachers wore maroon Rachel’s Challenge Chain Reaction shirts to identify themselves as supporters of Rachel’s Challenge and as a potential friend to someone in need.

Derek Kenney is a senior at Lone Star and a member of the Friends of Rachel Club.  Even though he already knew most of the people in the training group, he said he thought that the exercise offered great ways to get to connect with people. Kenney said he hoped that more kindness would be the result of the Rachel’s Challenge Chain Reaction training.

“I hope everyone can get along, I just want everyone to get along with everyone else,” he said.

Kraft explained that Lone Star hasn’t had an increase in bullying, but that any high school always has its share of conflict and drama.

“This is just a preemptive strike,” she said.