HERE'S SOME FEEDBACK FROM PRINCIPALS, COUNSELORS, AND PARENTS

“Our bucketfilling day with Kelly Nickel was an overwhelming success. Kelly’s visit enabled our school to re-embrace the reasons why building positive relationships is so important. The highlight of the day for me was the parent workshop held after school. Kelly did a terrific job of equipping approximately 40 Pinewood parents with the language and tools necessary to bring the bucketfilling message into the homes of our families. Thank you Kelly!”

“Hi Kelly, we absolutely LOVED having you here last week, the assemblies were awesome, and the feedback from them was so positive. It was worth the wait!! I hope you enjoyed coming to our school, we sure enjoyed you!”

Kelley McGowan, Counselor, Balboa Elementary School, Spokane, WA

“Hi Kelly, I wanted to share some of what the teachers and staff said after the assemblies on Friday:

GREAT assembly!! Well worth the time and money!
Wonderful message for our kiddos, we are going to “work it” in Kindergarten!
My class loved it too! Thank you, we love being kind.
I’m pretty sure I was laughing harder than my students!
Thank you for bringing Mr. 5 Cent to us, well worth it!

Thanks again Kelly, we are so very thankful for you!”

Jessica Durrant, Principal, Riverside Elementary School, Grants Pass, OR

“Kelly, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for joining us at ESCS today! The assembly and staff training were both very valuable and well presented. I also appreciate the additional things I am taking away from your time here that I was not thinking I would walk away with, including sending ‘I love you because’ texts, modeling behavior for children, not missing moments, etc. Thank you SO much, we really enjoyed having you here.”

Jeannine Mangiat, Principal, El Sobrante Christian School, El Sobrante, CA

“Kelly, I heard so many positive comments from teachers and kids about your assemblies today, thank you! I was really impressed with your multi-sensory approach, you had the kids singing, moving, and you provided great visuals and stories to help them learn the concepts. My favorite part was all of the laughing, the kids really loved it! Thank you again!”

Samantha Holsather, Counselor, Apollo Elementary School, Renton, WA

“Kelly Nickel did a fabulous job sharing the BucketFiller message to our student body. He was engaging, funny and thought-provoking. Our students came away from a full day of events with a better understanding of the need to be caring and empathetic with each other. We would have Kelly back in a heartbeat!”

Karen Alati, Character Counts committee chairperson, Lake Grove Elementary School, Lake Oswego, OR

“Hi Kelly! I just wanted to say thank you again for everything last week! We have received more positive comments than ever before on any program!”

Kaity Heath, District K-8 PE Coordinator, Senita Valley Elementary School, Tucson, AZ

“Hi Kelly, I just wanted to thank for presenting your bucketfilling programs at Wagner Holt. Your assemblies and workshops were the perfect jump start to our anti-bullying efforts. Our students loved your enthusiasm and creative approach to treating others with kindness and respect. Thank you again for bringing such a dynamic program to our school!”

Erin Clark, Vice Principal, Wagner Holt Elementary School, Lodi, CA

“Thank you for sharing your talent and helping to bring an awareness to Westwood of how powerful it can be in our everyday lives to think positive, act positive, and strive to fill people’s buckets instead of dipping. The students have been talking about your presentation on the playground and in the classroom for weeks. They loved it!”

Julie Vaz, Vice Principal, Westwood Elementary School, Stockton, CA

“Kelly provided an enthusiastic presentation to our students and our staff! In a school of over 1,100 students, Kelly’s presentation demonstrated that bucketfilling spirit, and our students were engaged and have been talking about Bucketfilling since! Our staff includes forty teachers in grades kindergarten through fifth grade, and the complexity of a staff of this size with varied interests did not stop Kelly! We spoke over the phone before hand, and Kelly designed a training session that treated our staff professionally, and reflected the importance of being Bucketfiller – even if you’re a grown up!”

Cindy Venolia, Principal, Stone Ranch Elementary School, San Diego, CA

“Kelly is an engaging speaker with a powerful message. Our students have been using their new knowledge in the classroom, on the playground, and even at home! Kelly’s message has permeated our school and the bucketfilling metaphor has had a very positive impact on our students. Thanks!”

Peter Towne, Principal, Greenhills Elementary School, Granite Bay, CA

“Thank you so much for your presentations to our students yesterday. Our students were extremely engaged, and your message was very clear and carried out throughout the entire assembly. We are excited to be a buckefilling school this year, and you definitely set the tone for that in such a positive and meaningful way. I will most definitely recommend your programs to my colleagues!”

Randi Leach, Principal, Crescent Elementary School, Anaheim Hills, CA

“Just a brief note of thanks for the wonderful assemblies and workshops presented to our students, staff, and parents last week. I was so pleased with the launch of the Bucketfillers For Life program at Lake Grove. I loved to see the students laughing, singing, and joining in on the fun. I hope this is just the beginning of a lasting partnership!"

Sara Deboy, Principal, Lake Grove Elementary School, Lake Oswego, OR

Eric Warneke, Counselor, Kohl Elementary School, Broomfield, CO

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for our school, Kelly. Your ability to relate to the students and build connections with them allowed your messages to stick.”

Mike Freeman, Principal, Mountain View Middle School, Redding, CA

“Thanks again for coming to Kohl, the impact on our school was immediately noticeable. Parents approached me the next day wanting more information because their children came home talking about filling buckets. Below are some comments from the teachers about the programs and the staff development:

I thought it was great, both the assemblies and the staff professional development workshop. Kelly is really good at what he does.
It was definitely worthwhile and gave me some good ideas for the future
The best part is that we can immediately use this in the classroom without much more instruction.
I thought Kelly was humorous and positive and I enjoyed his presentations.
I LOVED IT!!! Thank you for bringing this into our building, and I hope we can have another one next year.
I really liked the assembly and found the staff development for teachers inspiring.

“We had the pleasure of having Kelly Nickel present his Bucketfilling assemblies at our site. He was an energetic and entertaining presenter who delivered a strong message that captured and kept the attention of the students. I strongly recommend him to any site looking to make an impression on students in regards to negating bullying behaviors and promoting positive and uplifting behaviors.”

Joe Donovan, Principal, Pleasant Grove Elementary School, Elk Grove, CA

“What strikes me as impressive about Kelly as a speaker and facilitator is his ability to really connect with folks and keep them engaged through his energy, enthusiasm, and humor. I highly recommend him.”

Charles Menoher, Ed.D, retired Superintendent of Shasta County Office of Education

Testimonials: Testimonials

"Kelly! Thanks for coming out the kids and the staff LOVED the assembly and they are incorporating the language and the attitude into our school life and culture. I am contacting all of my colleagues and recommending your progams!

Tony Avenson, Interventionist/School Counselor, Naval Ave ELC, Bremerton, WA

"Hi Kelly, Thank you for your visit yesterday. Even though our students are very familiar with bucketfilling, it is always great to have a refresher from someone way more exciting than we are!

Tia Marshall, 5th grade teacher, Sunset School, Oak View, CA

“Kelly, thank you so much for coming to our school to share your message of spreading kindness to make our school – and the world – a better place. The kids absolutely loved it, it has been all they are talking about all day! Your enthusiasm and wit was enjoyed by our students and staff and we really appreciate you including us in your Oregon trip. I am excited to continue the message of Bucketfilling throughout the year through my guidance lessons, and we will continue to talk about and brainstorm ways to be intentionally consistent as a school staff. Thank you again for coming to visit us!”

Emily Gotfried, Counselor, Findley Elementary School, Portland, OR

“Kelly Nickel had a profound impact at Rother School. Students took away the important message that they effect the lives of others in positive or negative ways. It is common to overhear children advising each other on how to be bucketfillers throughout the campus. Thank you again Kelly, you were amazing!”

Kelly Rizzi, Principal, Rother Elementary School, Redding, CA

“Kelly, I want to personally thank you for your visit to Bethune, you enthusiasm was just the surge we needed! It is so beneficial to have another person from outside the community present the ideas in a different voice and in a different way. I thought your style, the content, and the message was very engaging and worth every moment of our attention. I really appreciated the assemblies and then the workshops that helped the students SEE the ideas in action. Your treatment of some of the more nuanced behaviors (like exclusion, name-calling, etc.) were excellent. Thank you so much for doing this important work!”

Kaleb Rashad, Principal, Bethune Elementary School,Moreno Valley, CA

“Kelly, I just wanted to tell you how awesome the assemblies were. Our students were engaged, having fun, yet learning a valuable lesson all at the same time. Our staff enjoyed themselves too! I appreciate all that you do to bring this simple yet effective message to life.”

Wynde Barz, Counselor, Emperor Elementary School, Temple City, CA

"Kelly, thank you for coming to Centerville! The kids loved the program, and I have heard a lot of language around bucket filling, bucket dipping, and using your lid the last couple of days. Staff is really embracing the concept, we now have a bulletin board reminding kids of the analogy. One 8th grade student came to me later in the day with this: "Mrs. Cameron, thank you so much for that assembly. I really needed that. It touched me personally. I needed the information." She had tears in her eyes, we hugged and she went on with her day. That is the affect you had on our small school!"

Kristin Cameron, Principal, Centerville School, Centerville, WA

"Hi Kelly, my daughters go to Redding School of the Arts and my 7 year old has been talking about bucket filling ever since your assembly yesterday. You made a very good impression on the kids, and they are continually talking about and processing your message, a sign of true learning. Thank you for taking your time to present to the school, and for doing such a fantastic job!"

Sheri Wiggins, parent at Redding School of the Arts, Redding, CA