Area students donned their finest pink threads last Wednesday to show their solidarity with ending bullying.
Feb. 22 marked Pink Shirt Day, a national event inspired by two Nova Scotia high school students who wore pink shirts to show support for a fellow classmate who was bullied for wearing pink.
“It’s become an international movement to show that you’re against bullying and (it) really brings awareness to the issue,” said R.F. Staples principal Courtney Lawrance. “Bullying is often an issue that, if it’s left unchecked, can make schools very unsafe and an unwelcoming place.”
Across the way at St. Mary School, students showed their spirit in head-to-toe pink, from pink socks to pink streaks and eyeshadow, with shades of red and purple in between.
The school has been participating for at least five years, said school counsellor Nora McGaughey, with strongest support coming from the elementary classes.
The Students’ Union decorated the cafeteria with pink streamers and wall decorations. Almost a dozen pink paper T-shirts hung on the cafeteria’s north wall. McGaughey asked every class to write a positive message that would hang on the wall under the banner, “Kindness is one size fits all.”
Some of the shirts spread the message of loving one another and loving oneself.
“A best friend is someone who loves you even when you have forgotten how to love yourself,” wrote the Grade 6 class.
Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten students put handprints on their T-shirt with the reminder that “hands are for helping, not hitting.”
Earlier that morning, they received a first-hand lesson on bullying and kindness when a classmate ended up in tears.
As the class sat around in a semi-circle, a teacher asked them what they would do to make the situation better if their classmate was crying.
Some suggested hugging, distracting them, or making them laugh.
“Compromise,” said one young boy. Using his idea and his friend’s idea to make one great idea.
