Phone app helps girl with act of kindness for lonely classmate

TEMECULA, Calif. -- A new school can be very challenging for students, especially if they don't speak English.

One young student did her part to make her Temecula school more welcoming to a classmate who just moved from Mexico.

Amanda Moore does not speak Spanish but she didn't let them stop her from reaching out to a new classmate at Paloma Elementary who doesn't speak English.

A 10-year-old Temecula girl doesn't speak Spanish, but that didn't stop her from reaching out to a new classmate who just moved to her school from Mexico.

The 10-year-old girl noticed her new classmate seemed to be lonely and sitting by himself.

She used Google Translate on her smartphone to help write a letter to him: "Would you like to sit with me today? Look for me and I will show you where I sit. We can color or simply tell scary stories. Thank you for your time, signed Amanda."

"I just wanted to tell him it's OK if he could sit over by us," Amanda said. "Even though we can't really speak Spanish together, I don't really know Spanish, but we could still hang out."

Amanda's family has hosted exchange students and uses the app to communicate.

Her mother, Kimber Kinard, got emotional after learning about her daughter's spontaneous act of kindness.

Though cameras weren't allowed in the classroom, Amanda's mother related what happened in school Wednesday:

"She walked over and gave it to him, and he stared at Amanda and then he opened it up and was trying to read it," Kinard said. "When he finished reading it, his eyes were welling up with tears and then Amanda's eyes were welling up with tears. Then the whole class stood up and applauded. He stood up and he hugged her."

Amanda said she really had just a simple motivation: "I just think he shouldn't be alone. Everybody should have a buddy."

Rafael said the letter made him feel very happy because he said Amanda wanted to be his friend. He also said that no one had given him a letter before.

Rafael said Amanda would be his friend forever.

Two days later, Paloma Elementary school awarded Amanda for her act of kindness, naming her the student of the month.

The families of the children also got the chance to meet.

Rafael's mother said her son felt nervous because he couldn't understand his classmates. She said she thinks what Amanda did was wonderful.

"I think it's just touched so many people on so many levels. I've personally received 1,600 personal Facebook messages from people all across the world just saying, 'Gracias, gracias.' It doesn't take a translator to know what that means," Kinard said.