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CRANBURY: Peers teach respect

By Kaitlyn Kanzler, Special Writer
   CRANBURY — The second graders at Cranbury School were taught how to respect themselves and others during a Week of Respect last week.
   A puppet show based on Benard Waber’s book “You Look Ridiculous said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus” was performed by the school’s Peer Leaders.
   The show told the story of a hippo that was told that because she didn’t have the features of other jungle animals that she looked ridiculous.
   The book teaches children to respect themselves just the way they are, according to school counselor and peer leader advisor Joann Charwin.
   After the show, the peer leaders asked the second graders why was it important that not everyone looked the same.
   The group told the students that if everyone looked the same, no one would be special and that it was okay to be different.
   According to student and peer leader Ameya Hadap, peer leaders are recommended by teachers and asked to participate in various programs.
   ”We put on plays and puppet shows to teach kids about respect and caring about others,” Carlin Romaine, who played the hippo in the show, said.
   According to Sally Bittner, the school’s social worker and anti-bullying specialist, the student council members that participate on the school safety team said that they learn better from each other.
   ”We’re a really small school, so we’re tight knit,” Ameya said. “Everyone knows everyone so there’s no room for bullying anymore.”
   The peer leaders perform several programs for the different age groups, including seventh grader JasonLi’s play “The Time Traveler,” which won in the elementary division of the The NJ Young Playwright’s Society’s contest, according to English teacher, Elizabeth Grimaldi. Jason’s play will be performed for the third through fifth graders.
   According to Ms. Charwin, the six through eighth graders will also see Jason’s play, but will have other skits performed as well.
   The Anti-Bullying Rights Act, more commonly known as HIB for Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying, law was passed two years ago in January and was implemented last September, according to Ms. Bittner.
   ”There was always a law in place to prevent bullying, but what (HIB) did was define harassment, intimidation, and bullying,” Ms. Bittner said.
   According to Ms. Bittner, the anti-bullying law designated the week beginning the first Monday in October as the “Week of Respect,” which promotes a positive school climate.
   The school provides age-appropriate instruction to prevent harassment, intimidation, and bullying, and throughout the year, is expected to provide similar instruction in accordance with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.
   According to Ms. Bittner, Cranbury School has a positive support model of core values like being respectful, responsible, and ready, prior to HIB being enacted.
   ”We took a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach,” Ms. Bittner said.
   During the week, the school had dress up days, where they would wear different colors or outfits to celebrate and respect things such as diversity and acceptance and had several different assemblies and programs.
   ”All of these anti-bulling assemblies have helped and played a role because now the whole country is putting an emphasis on anti-bullying,” Ameya said.
   According to the Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) status report presented by Chief School Administrator Susan Genco at the June 19 Board of Education meeting, from September to December there were 10 cases of bullying out of approximately 581 students.
   For more information on HIB, contact Michele Waldron, the Anti-Bullying Coordinator for the Cranbury School at (609)395-1700, Ext. 225.