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Pink Shirt Day reinforces anti-bullying message

Upper Grand District School Board schools take part in national Pink Shirt Day.
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Westminster Woods Public School principal Heather Broddy donned pink, as did students, from left, Jayde, 5, Sam Anderson, 10, and Adelaide Edwards, 5, during Pink Shirt Day.

There was lots of pink being worn in Upper Grand District School Board schools Wednesday, as students and staff made a wardrobe choice as an anti-bullying statement. February 24 was Pink Shirt Day across the country.

Principal Heather Broddy at Westminster Woods Public School donned a pink t-shirt, and was pleased to see so many teachers, office staff and students wearing the colour as a symbolic gesture in support of all those who take a stand against bullying.

Broddy said there is an ongoing need to be vigilant when it comes to monitoring and addressing bullying behavior in schools.

“It’s a good reminder for our students that we need to say bullying is not OK,” she said, speaking of Pink Shirt Day.

She said it is important to make a distinction between bullying behavior and general conflict. They are not the same. A bully uses their strength or influence to intimidate someone. A conflict is a mutual disagreement or argument.

In school settings, a group of children picking on a single child is an act of bullying. A child that consistently calls another child derogatory names is bullying.  

Children need to know what bullying is so that they can name it when they see it, and avoid participating in it themselves, Broddy indicated.

When students in the earliest grades are taught what bullying is, and when those lessons are reinforced, the knowledge is engrained as they get older.  In that way, children will be less likely to participate in the behviour, less likely to tolerant it in others, and will take a stand against it.

Broddy said it is difficult to tell just how much bullying goes on in schools. Westminster Woods has had just five reports of bullying over the past two years.

“But we don’t know how much is happening under the radar,” Broddy said.

That is why it is important for teachers and other adults in school settings to be vigilant. Playground supervisors are trained to approach clusters of children to gauge whether bullying is taking place. Children known to have bullying tendencies are observed in their interactions with other children.

Broddy said schools also rely heavily on parents and students to report bullying.

Pink Shirt Day was started by two students in Nova Scotia in support of a teenager who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. The campaign became a country-wide one, and encourages students to become more aware of bullying.

 


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Rob O'Flanagan

About the Author: Rob O'Flanagan

Rob O’Flanagan has been a newspaper reporter, photojournalist and columnist for over twenty years. He has won numerous Ontario Newspaper Awards and a National Newspaper Award.
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