SALISBURY — As students unloaded from the buses and car rider line at Overton Elementary earlier this week, they were greeted by several faces not normally on campus.

Forming a tunnel of sorts, various local leaders joined in to welcome those students to school. That Community Kindness Tunnel is the way that Overton kicks off the Great Kindness Challenge.

“It was about six years ago as part of our bullying prevention program, we were trying to think of ways of problem-based learning,” school counselor Rosemary Wood said. “In doing that, we learned of the Great Kindness Challenge, a worldwide event that people can participate in.

“It’s a week that we are doing activities to promote the antithesis of bullying to model, teach and have opportunities to practice kindness in school and in our neighborhood.”

In alignment with the Great Kindness Challenge, the kids have official checklists to work on throughout the week. Some of those items include telling your bus driver thank you, smiling at 25 people, and opening the door for someone.

“(They’re) just nice ways of showing kindness to others,” Wood said.

Several local officials joined in the efforts of welcoming students to Overton Elementary on Monday, including representatives from city hall, the fire and police departments, the Rowan County Commission and Livingstone College.

“They’re all happy to support this bullying prevention measure in our community and our schools, so they come out,” Wood said.

When it comes to school-aged children, bullying is always a possibility, which is what Wood and the staff at Overton Elementary are hoping to combat.

“Our No. 1 thing is to do what we can to prevent it,” Wood said.

Bullying takes many forms, and so do its effects.

“The detrimental effects can be children not wanting to come to school, anxiety and depression,” Wood said. “The thing is we want them to know what to do if they are experiencing bullying. We also want them to know what the definition of bullying is. It’s not just two people not getting along.”

In a way, the Great Kindness Challenge piggybacks off October, which is Anti-Bullying Month.

“Coming back from winter break, we want to celebrate kindness and keep that going, so we do the community kindness tunnel.”

The kindness doesn’t just stop at school. Overton also partnered with Brookdale Senior Living Center to engage with its residents, and the students are starting a clean-up brigade service project this year.

“The kids are able to participate in that on a monthly basis and help keep our grounds clean,” Wood said. “It’s not just being kind to people but being kind to our environment and community.”

Wood indicated that feedback from all parties involved had been overwhelmingly positive.

“Parents and students usually love the activities,” Wood said. “They love the emphasis on kindness. For the teachers and the staff, it is one of their favorite weeks of the year.”