Seventh-graders to hear anti-bullying program

By: centraljersey.com
On Wednesday, Hillsborough Middle School’s seventh-graders will attend Rachel’s Challenge, an assembly program aimed at bullying and violence abatement.
Rachel Joy Scott was the first person killed at Columbine High school on April 20, 1999. Rachel’s acts of kindness and compassion, coupled with the content of her six diaries are the foundation for the program. The one-hour presentation uses powerful audio/video footage of Rachel’s life to motivate students to make positive changes in the way they treat others.
In addition to the assembly program for students, an evening program will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the HMS Cafeteria. The evening program is free and open to the community.
To sustain the positive climate change in the school, follow-up activities continue the messages of the assembly. At HMS, the peer leadership group PRIDE (Peers Respecting Individual Differences Everyday) develops activities that continue a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.
This is the second year that HMS has held the program for the seventh-graders. After the assembly last March, the PRIDE students gave out "Random Notes of Kindness" to every student in the school and also created special "Appreciation Days" for custodians, cafeteria staff and bus drivers, valuable members of the HMS community that are often overlooked and under-appreciated.
For more information about the program, go to www.rachelschallenge.org or contact Anna Mahler at 908- 31-6600, ext. 2296, or email at [email protected].