Students at St. Mary's School in Okotoks are going above and beyond for kindness this week.

Today (Feb. 28) is Pink Shirt Day, where students across the country don pink shirts to support anti-bullying.

The tradition has been going on since 2007 and was started in Canada when students wore shirts in support of a classmate who had been bullied for wearing pink.

St. Mary's has embraced the tradition for many years, and students are participating in it as part of Kindness Week.

"We look at 'what does kindness look like on a daily basis?' In one way, we're looking a the ways we can include students in a rich, diverse number of activities, so we highlight some of the clubs and opportunities that students have to participate and show their gifts and talents as well. We typically have sports teams and things like that but we've also highlighted our chess clubs, school newspapers, we have a Water Colour Wednesday group and a book club. Just to give students an opportunity to be involved, no matter what they're interested in," says Principal Brandon Bailey. "We're also looking at just what kindness looks like. It can be as simple as a smile to someone or holding open a door. We highlight daily kindness quotes in our announcements. It goes back to kindness being our culture, it's what we do each and every day, but this week there's just a little extra focus for students."

While Pink Shirt Day is recognized by middle school and high schools too, Bailey says these kinds of events are especially foundational for elementary students.

"Like anything, whether it's reading, writing, or math, the foundation really matters. For us, it's a matter of 'we need to model that kindness, we need to model how we treat every person around us.' It doesn't have to be huge, grandiose acts. Those can be great, but it can also just be the way we interact with others and treat others."

This year, they've added another dimension to Kindness Week, where students are given an opportunity to recognize kindness outside the school's walls.

Students have been preparing cards to thank members of the community who display kindness every day.

Included with the cards are flower seeds to symbolize kindness growing in the community.