MARLBORO – Pupils and staff members in the Marlboro K-8 School District participated in School Violence Awareness Week from Oct. 15-19 with activities that were designed to emphasize positive ways to resolve conflicts in school and at home.
School Violence Awareness Week is held in accordance with state law which requires school districts to provide an opportunity for students, parents, school district personnel and law enforcement personnel to discuss methods of keeping schools safe from violence.
“It’s very important that we work on the climate in our schools so there is a mutual respect among the students and the staff,” Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said.
Abbott said the climate in a school must be one of respect where students do not feel alienated.
As part of the week’s activities the superintendent presented the district’s violence and vandalism report at the Oct. 16 Board of Education meeting. There was only one incident to report, which occurred on April 24. In that case the word “bomb” was found written on a boys bathroom stall at the Marlboro Middle School. The marker that had been used to scribble the word was found disposed of in the toilet.
Abbott said the middle school was immediately evacuated and all proper precautions were followed to ensure the safety of the students.
To mark School Violence Awareness Week, activities were planned at the district’s eight schools.
Staff members at the Marlboro Early Learning Center, Tennent Road, focused their lessons on character education, according to a press release about the week’s activities.
Fifth grade pupils at the Asher Holmes Elementary School, Menzel Lane, have been working since September collaborating, writing, rehearsing and performing skits that focus on life experiences and lessons taught at home and in school.
All of the skits were digitally recorded and edited, with the final production being viewed by students in grades one through four. There will be classroom discussions following the screenings. Guidance counselor Carol Coloa was on hand to discuss issues such as bullying and conflict resolution with the pupils. Principal Michael Ettore and Vice Principal Peter Kopack visited classes to share a message about violence prevention.
Katherine Schuh, guidance counselor at the Frank Defino Central Elementary School, Route 79, was to deliver three ageappropriate anti-bullying assemblies to the students during the week. Schuh invited the children to sign an anti-violence/ good citizenship pledge. This pledge will hang in the main hallway.
And, motivational music was played in the morning as students arrived at school. These songs were supported using “word of the day” cards handed out to random students and reviewed in their classrooms.
Bulletin boards depicting one of the themes of good character that were studied in class were featured in the school. In early November Schuh will host grade level assemblies to gauge the retention and application of the concepts.
The Frank J. Dugan Elementary School, Topanemus Road, highlighted violence prevention awareness throughout the month. Teachers were given School Violence Awareness Week vocabulary and definitions they can integrate into their “word of the day.” A peace pledge will hang in the school hallway.
A popular motivational song was broadcast each morning in the Dugan School as well. These songs related to the pillars of character education such as respect, caring and citizenship. A fifth grade student was to explain how each morning’s song related to those pillars during morning announcements. The pupils were encouraged to demonstrate that particular trait over the course of the day.
Throughout October and into November lessons on conflict resolution will be given. The focus will be on how to resolve a conflict while recognizing differences of opinion. On Nov. 13 students at the Dugan School will take part in a “Mix It Up at Lunch” event where willing students will sit with children they usually would not sit with.
The focus at the Marlboro Elementary School, School Road West, was aimed at conflict resolution. Melissa Sayegh, the school’s guidance counselor, taught students to solve problems and express their feelings using “I” messages, according to a press release on the week’s events.
The “I” messages have three steps: expressing how you feel, telling what the person did to make you feel that way, and telling what would make things better for you. Teachers reinforced a violence prevention vocabulary list. An age-appropriate reading list with a theme of anti-violence and anti-bullying was provided to teachers and may be used as a supplement during the month.
A daily song will stir up the students’ enthusiasm and conversation. In November, Sayegh will revisit classes to assess the students’ retention and application of the peaceful concepts that were taught throughout October.
Chrissy Tongring, the guidance counselor for the Robertsville Elementary School, Menzel Lane, spoke during the morning announcements to discuss specific character traits. First-graders read stories with an emphasis on respect, friendship and responsibility which tie into classroom discussions and activities.
Second-graders brainstormed a situation and how it could be solved peacefully. Students will draw pictures of situations being solved peacefully. Making use of a violence prevention packet that was created, students in third grade focused on a word that will help them stay safe. The children wrote about what they can do to make their school and world a safer place.
After reading the book “100 Dresses” by Eleanor Estes, Robertsville’s fourthgraders worked in groups to explore concepts of tolerance, diversity and making appropriate choices. The fifth-graders practiced conflict resolution through roleplaying activities.
The Marlboro Memorial Middle School, Nolan Road, hosted a different theme each day during the week, including managing your anger. There were classroom discussions and pledge banners to hang in the halls. Members of the school’s Peer-to- Peer leadership group spoke in homerooms about violence prevention. The school sponsored a contest for students and a monitored forum where students were permitted to write on a blog discussing violence prevention.
Students at the Marlboro Middle School, Route 520, who were caught performing acts of kindness will have their name put into a lottery to win a pizza lunch with Principal Patricia Nieliwocki. Ten students will be selected for this treat. There is also an essay contest and a poster contest based upon the character pillars, with a winner from each grade. Students were asked to sign the pledge that was formed last year, “Closing the book on hate.”
All the activities over the week were meant to build and continue throughout the school year.