Staff and students observe a week full of anti-bullying themes
Staff and students observe a week full of kindness, bully prevention
Superheroes of all kinds gathered at Matthew Henson Middle School Monday to help spread the message of using the power within to spread kindness throughout the school.
Students and staff dressed in superhero costumes and clothes as part of the school’s Unity Week, five days of themes and messages of anti-bullying and being friendly to each other. The week is part of Charles County Public Schools’ initiative to curb bullying. Each school in Charles County Public Schools, CCPS, participates in the week and holds anti-bullying activities. The school system has been participating systemwide for the past five years, according to Sara K. Taylor, communications specialist for CCPS.
“[The students] have been into the overall message and I think it makes them feel connected to each other,” D’Angelo Washington, school counselor, said of the initiative.
School counselors Washington, Neal Bankenstein and Alexandra Eichel organized the week and it’s different themes. Thursday, Oct. 13 was dedicated to a presentation called “Silent Strength,” and Friday, Oct. 14 was Silent Strength Day, where students were encouraged to be positive and hand out compliments to their peers and teachers.
“It made for a day of positivity and feeling good,” Eichel said.
“I was telling the kids this morning to be someone’s hero,” Bankenstein said of Monday’s theme. “The month is about bully prevention but we want to encourage those kids to be kind to others and stand up and be brave against those instances you see someone being bullied. It’s about bringing your superpowers in to help others.”
“It was just a fun and engaging way for them to participate and we like it too,” Washington said of Superhero Day. “Any excuse to dress up.”
Tuesday was one of the most popular days of the week. Mix It Up Day encouraged all students to branch out beyond their usual circle of friends at lunch time. Students are randomly assigned colors coordinating with different table cloths in the cafeteria determining what table they will sit at, allowing the students an “excuse,” Washington said to get to know other classmates they may not come in contact with otherwise.
“It’s one of those things that they’re nervous about but they actually really enjoy it,” Washington said of the students’ reaction to Mix It Up Day.
“I’ve had kids ask me if we could do that once a month because they really like meeting new people. They liked the opportunity to talk to different kids. We’re forcing them to do this so it wasn’t as awkward for them to get to know each other,” Bankenstein said.
The week culminates today with Unity Day where students and staff wear orange, the school’s color. Students are also asked to sign a pledge to stop bullying and spread kindness and specifically indicate what they will do to encourage unity throughout the school.
The counselors agreed the most difficult component of putting the week together is finding the time to collaborate together to nail down the particulars and decide which each year’s different days will be. Unity and Mix It Up remain each year but the presentation and extra days fluctuate from year to year.
The easiest part of the week, the counselors agreed, is student and staff participation.
“The kids have been into the overall message and I think it makes them feel connected to each other,” Washington said.
“If there’s anything we’re winning at it’s school climate,” Bankenstein said. “This stuff for us is easy to through together because the teachers are always on board and the kids are always excited about it.”