Jeff Mears, principal at Young School in Saco, is always looking for ways to get his students to think beyond themselves.

“We’re all naturally selfish, and younger kids are even more so,” Mears said.

When he read the book “Yellow” by Adam Peterson this summer, Mears was inspired to kick off the school year with a day of service.

“Yellow” follows the story of a woman who was always an “upbeat, positive ray of sunshine,” even when she was diagnosed with cancer. Up until her death, the woman was positive, bringing “sunshine and yellow” wherever she went.

“It’s about kindness,” Mears said. “That really inspired me.”

On Sept. 10, Young School students in grades kindergarten through second worked together to make their school a better place, taking on school improvement activities like cleaning the siding and windows of the school.

“It was pretty fun to see the windows after and know we were going to have to clean them again,” Mears laughed. “But it wasn’t about the end result. It was about the process and getting kids to do something beyond themselves.”

Adorned in yellow, students and volunteers spent the day filling the playground sandbox and planting a flower garden.

The students, Mears said, had “a blast.”

“It was honestly so fun,” he said. “It was really cool to see kids so excited about giving back.”

At the end of the day, kids and volunteers had the opportunity to cover their hands in yellow paint and put handprints on the school’s sheds.

For Mears, the activity, along with the freshly planted flower garden, was a way to leave a legacy. 

“Our school is going to close in three years,” Mears said.

This summer, Saco voters approved funding to build two new schools to house its pre-K through fifth-grade students, eliminating the need for Young School.

Once the Young School building is knocked down, Mears said, the garden will remain.

“We wanted to do something to leave a legacy behind,” he said.

But the “Be the Yellow” initiative is not just about leaving a legacy for Young School. To Mears, it’s about community service and teaching students how to look out for others.

Over the course of the school year, Mears plans to host five more “Be the Yellow” initiatives, with the next one taking place in November.

On a currently undetermined day, the school will invite students’ family members who have served in the military, and put on a performance and a breakfast to honor veterans.

Mears is also open to expanding his “Be the Yellow” program into the community, possibly by bringing kids to a local retirement home to offer music and art.

“I’m trying to keep it as positive as I can,” Mears said. “There’s a lot of bad news out there, and I don’t want our kids to worry about that. I want them to think about how they can make someone’s day better.”

In the spring, the Young School will host another school cleanup day as part of the “Be the Yellow” initiative.

At the end of the day, Mears said, he just wants his students to think about other people.

“If we can teach them that, they’re so much better off,” Mears said. “It makes the world a better place.”