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Members of Erskine Academy’s FOR club role play snubbing someone in the hallway at Whitefield Elementary School bullying prevention assembly on Jan. 26. The small act can have a major negative impact on someone, club members said. (Abigail Adams photo) |
By Abigail W. Adams
Eight members of Erskine Academy’s Friends of Rachel club traveled to Whitefield to give a presentation about the power of kindness at Whitefield Elementary School on Monday, Jan. 26. The assembly was organized to help roll out a new bullying prevention program adopted at Whitefield Elementary, Niki Mathews, student support coordinator, said.
Whitefield Elementary School’s grades six, seven, and eight were joined by Chelsea Elementary School for the assembly.
Mathews said that following the presentation students would work in breakout sessions to learn about Whitefield Elementary School’s bullying prevention program, which is part of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program adopted by RSU 12 in the 2013-2014 school year.
“I learned a lot about how we need to be kind,” Nicole Taylor, a seventh-grader at Whitefield Elementary School, said after the Friends of Rachel presentation.
The Friends of Rachel club was organized at Erskine Academy following an assembly in 2011. Friends of Rachel clubs have been instituted in schools across America as part of Rachel’s Challenge, a national movement inspired by the memory of Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine school shooting in 1999.
Rachel’s Challenge aspires to help schools institute a safe, caring, and supportive learning environment, according to the organization’s webpage. The organization’s mission is guided by a quote from Scott: “if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction … People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”
“We believe the only way to prevent bullying is to spread kindness,” members of Erskine Academy’s Friends of Rachel club said to the approximately 60 students in attendance. “Kindness starts a chain reaction; it has a ripple effect.”
Through questions and answers with the audience and role-playing, members of the Friends of Rachel club spoke of some the hurtful things students sometimes do, such as making fun of someone or excluding them from a lunch table and games.
“Kindness is more about what to do than what not to do,” club members said. “It’s easier to be kind to someone than it is to be mean.”
Friends of Rachel club members spoke about simple things students can do to spread kindness through their school and their community, such as giving someone a compliment or simply saying hello.
The Friends of Rachel club spoke about their work to institute a culture of kindness at Erskine Academy, such as holding teacher-appreciation, high-five, and hug days. They also volunteer at a number of community events, such as the Special Olympics and community food drives.
“We learned how to make people happy and feel good,” Tyler McCray, a seventh-grader at Whitefield Elementary, said about the club’s presentation. “I’m going to ask people how they’re doing.”
Mathews said by introducing students to the bullying prevention part of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports program students will know exactly how to handle bullying situations.
“It teaches them to stop, walk, and talk,” Mathews said. “Stop when you are in a bullying situation, walk away, and talk about it with an adult.”
Whitefield Elementary School Principal Joshua McNaughton said that the school has already seen a decrease in office referrals since instituting Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Focusing on the bullying prevention part of the program is part of the school’s ongoing efforts to educate students, McNaughton said.
“I learned that saying hi to people can make them feel better,” Chiarna Mahoney, a sixth-grader at Whitefield Elementary, said of the assembly.
Before splitting up into breakout groups to learn about the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports bullying prevention program, the assembly’s attendees participated in a group activity of running through a jump rope without it touching a single person.
After several attempts to get everyone through the jump rope, the approximately 60 students organized themselves and worked together to make sure everyone successfully made it to the other side.
