Preventing Bullying through Inclusion

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Students at St. Martin’s Catholic School were busy doing special activities for antibullying awareness on Pink Shirt Day on February 26.

Principal Darby Murphy said since they are in elementary school, it is just about encouraging students to be good to others. The third week of February was also Kindness Week where the message was to practice kindness in the classroom even if someone is different from you. “We teach kids to be caring towards people and friendly. Also, what to do if someone treats them poorly. We talked a lot about using our W.I.T.S. which means walking away, ignoring them, telling them to stop, and speaking to an adult if the situation gets too bad. We are teaching them to learn how to deal with bullying if they see it.”

Practicing Kindness and Acceptance Everyday

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Many students and staff wore pink at A.L. Horton School for Pink Shirt Day on February 26.

Principal Murray Howell explained that on this day, they spoke about the Indigenous worldview on bullying to give a different perspective on why they don’t think bullying is appropriate.

“We also try to focus on the kindness aspect and have a club called the Kindness Collective. They meet regularly and have a board they put up where they put nice messages on. Pink Shirt Day is important but not the only day we emphasize kindness; we do this every day throughout the year.”