 | Students and staff of Williamstown Public School recognized Bullying Awareness Week from November 14-18 by participating in daily activities that reminded students about the detriments of bullying. Each daily activity took place at 12:15 p.m. | |
Williamstown - November 22, 2011 - Students and staff of Williamstown Public School recognized Bullying Awareness Week from November 14-18 by participating in daily activities that reminded students about the detriments of bullying.
Each daily activity took place at 12:15 p.m., and to signal the start of the activity, the song “Don’t Laugh at Me” by Mark Wills played over the school’s PA system.
On Monday, everyone dressed in blue to signify Blue Monday, a day usually recognized in January as the most depressing day of the year. Students also participated in “Links to a Chain,” an activity where every student received a link to a chain to write their own anti-bullying message on. Chains were linked together and connected throughout the school.
On Tuesday, the school’s Spirit Squad led students in an activity called “Crumpled Paper.” This activity was mirrored off an activity created by a teacher in New York, said Principal Jennifer Charbonneau.
Students were asked to take a piece of paper, crumple it up and stomp on it without ripping it. Then, students unfolded the paper, smoothed it out, and observed how crinkled and messy the paper was. The Spirit Squad then told students to tell the paper that they were sorry. Even though they said they were sorry and tried to smooth out the paper, the marks were still evident.
“That is what happens when a child bullies another child,” said Charbonneau. “They may say they are sorry, but the scars are always there.”
The Spirit Squad also led students through Wednesday’s activity called “Snowball.” Each student was given a piece of paper with their name on it. They were told to crumple the paper and throw it. Then, the students were to pick up a piece of paper and write something kind about the student whose name appeared on the paper.
On Thursday, staff held an assembly to discuss bullying. On Friday, everyone was encouraged to dress in pink or to wear their pink “Bullying Stops Here!” t-shirts which were available for purchase last February. The grade 6 students performed a bullying skit in each classroom, and afterward asked students a series of discussion questions.
“We had many things going on last week,” said Charbonneau. “In addition to Bullying Awareness Week, we celebrated the 50th Day of School, invited mystery readers to our kindergarten classes, and we were excited about the arrival of 30 iPad 2s. It was a fun, informative week for all students.”
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