By Emily MacLeod and Amelie Delesalle
AHE student reporter-photographers
The students and staff at Arrow Heights Elementary School wear pink shirts to show support for Anti-Bullying Day. This event began when a Grade Nine boy in Nova Scotia was made-fun of for wearing a pink shirt on his first day of school. Bullies harassed him, called him names and threatened to beat him up.
Two Grade 12 students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, heard the news and decided to help. They went to a discount store and bought 50 pink shirts and tank tops to wear to school the next day. Then the two students went online and e-mailed classmates to get them on board with their anti-bullying cause. Hundreds of students showed up wearing pink shirts the next day.
There are four types of bullying.
- Social bullying is deliberate, repetitive behaviour that is intended to hurt others. This type of bullying generally includes verbal abuse, gossip or other actions that cause mental and emotional harm and social isolation for the victim.
- Verbal bullying occurs when someone uses language to gain power over his or her peers. A verbal bully will tease a victim relentlessly making going to school very difficult for them.
- Cyber bullying is the use of technology to repeatedly harm or harass other people in a deliberate manner.
- Physical bullying includes hitting or intimidating others. Sometimes groups of students will target a peer because of something they see as different.
With so many different ways for someone to pick on someone else, we need to be aware and tell others that it’s not OK to hurt others’ in any way. Instead, why not be kind, caring and respectful. Make someone’s day by being helpful, showing interest in him/her, and including him/her. We can help others if we are aware of bullying activity by telling an adult and making the bullying stop. We would rather be remembered for being supportive, considerate, and nice. Everybody has different interests. It makes our school an interesting and amazing place to grow and learn. Check out our compliment wall and our ‘Sea of Pink’ below: