By Amy Batista, Special Writer
Schools throughout the district have been participating in the Week of Respect and School Violence Awareness Week to promote and help prevent negative behaviors, such as violence, and harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB) by engaging students in age-appropriate instruction and assemblies in October.
According to the New Jersey Department of Education, The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (P.L.2010, c.122) requires that the week beginning with the first Monday in October of each year, which was Oct. 5-9, be designated as the Week of Respect in New Jersey.
The East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education as well as the entire staff throughout the district believe that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Since students learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff, and volunteers are required to demonstrate appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation or bullying. Harassment, intimidation or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate its students in a safe environment. Therefore, the school district will not tolerate acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying, according to the district website.
Walter C. Black Principal Samantha Rozycki said that the school safety team at WCB is working hard to proactively create an environment that all parents, students, and staff can be proud of.
“The week of respect is a good kick-off week for what promises to be a fantastic school year,” she said.
She said they had special morning announcements for students to participate in their Hands Across WCB project.
“We sold a hand for 25 cents in the cafeteria and students wrote an message of respect/anti-bullying,” she said.
She added that each student received a respect pencil.
“Teachers conducted lessons about anti-bullying and respect,” she said. “We have a zero tolerance for bullying in the East Windsor Regional School District.”
She said that Ms. Gertel, the school counselor, meets with students once on a six-day cycle.
“She has many lessons and bullying and peer relations are among them,” said Ms. Rozycki. “In addition, the teachers conduct all six Bully Busters lessons within the first six weeks of school. We find that addresses safety, anti-bullying, and a positive school climate is better approached through multiple avenues. In addition, we have one respect day a month where students and staff wear teal and/or white and we revisit the meaning of respect,” she said.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the school had an anti-bullying assembly called YoJo.
Principal Rozycki addressed a group of students kindergarten through second grade who attended the morning portion of the assembly and asked them why YoJo was there. Third- through fifth-graders attended the afternoon portion.
“You’re right, we are learning an anti-bullying lesson because we don’t have bullies at WCB,” she said. “Last week, we celebrated the Week of Respect and we learned how to be good to each other and how to take care of our school.”
“I’m actually here to talk about a really serious subject: bullying” said Philip Doccolo, a performer with the YoJo crew. “Bullying is someone who is mean or hurtful to somebody else on purpose again and again and again and again.”
He said in New Jersey if somebody is mean and hurtful to someone on purpose just one time, that is enough to be considered bullying. He asked the students yes and no questions on bullying during which they shouted the responses.
“In addition to hitting people, bullies use their words to do damage,” he said, adding they use mean comments, calling people names, threatening them and a lot of other negative behavior. While these things will never leave bruises they can be just as cruel and hurtful, he added.
He said that girls and boys may act like bullies in different ways.
“Everyone out there is capable of being a bully, just like everyone is capable of being a friend,” he said.
He asked the students if bullies could use a computer to be mean to someone else. “Yes they could,” he said, adding that they might not have seen that yet. “It’s called cyberbullying.” He said bullying whether using your hands and feet, whether it is using your words or computers it is always wrong and it shouldn’t be allowed anywhere.
Students learned some strategies during the assembly on how to handle bullies.
“Sometimes the best way to handle bullies is just to walk away and ignore them,” he said. “Just think about it. It’s really hard for a bully to pick on you if you won’t stand there and listen.” He said that standing up to bullies can be the right thing to do but fighting is not the answer and it is a safe situation
“You can say stop it or stop bullying me now,” he said. “However, just remember to stay calm and speak up because more often than not, bullies will back down when the people they pick on stand up.”
He said you are not a tattletale if you tell a grown up about someone being bullied.
“Don’t let that intimidate you and don’t keep that inside,” he said. “Never think that being bullied is your own fault.” You want to support the people who need help, not the people who are being bullied, he added.
Students witnessed a live bullying situation during which a student from the audience participated with YoJo in a demonstration on the stage and put to use everything they learned during the assembly.
“I think students had fun while learning,” said Ms. Rozycki. “They hear the message from their teachers and administrators all the time. But to hear it from a big, friendly, blue monster was a change of pace and something that will stay with them.”
The program was well done and truly engaged the students, she said.
“The students loved the assembly and YoJo reinforced the lessons that we focus on at WCB,” she said. “We thank the WCB PTO for co-sponsoring the assembly. Together, home and school are committed to a safe learning community at WCB.”
She said that she they found out about the assembly through their Assistant Principal Nataly Farias.
“My son, who is a second grader, came home telling me all about YoJo last year,” Assistant Principal Farias said. “He was very excited and told me how he learned about bullying with YoJo.”
She said that last year when they met during one of their school safety committee meetings, it came up that WCB hadn’t had an assembly for a really long time and how great it would be to have one that focused on bullying.
“So when my son told me about Yojo, I had to share this with Ms. Rozycki,” she said.
Assistant Principal Farias is also the assistant principal on some days at the Perry L. Drew School, which also held the anti-bullying assembly called YoJo on Oct. 14.
“All students participated in hearing an anti-bullying message,” Perry L. Drew Elementary School Principal Robert Dias said. “The show was sponsored by the PTO.”
He said that the Week of Respect was tied into the school’s PTO sponsored book fair.
“They adopted the theme for the week,” he said.
Grace N. Rogers Elementary School Principal Heather Gladkowski said that the theme for the Week of Respect was We are Leaders.
“Our students learned about being proactive through stories and teacher-directed lessons,” she said.
She said that the school-wide activities included: Buddy Reading – Younger students were paired with older students to read stories and work together on an activity; Recess 101 – The Student Council created stations where students could learn new outdoor recess games that focus on cooperation and friendship; and Student Council Election – Student leaders conducted speeches about being leaders at their school.
Ethel McKnight Elementary School Principal Silvana Zircher said the theme for this year’s Week of Respect is How We Grow Respect at EMK.
“We worked together to review what respect looks like, sounds like, and feels like,” she said.
She said that they also discussed how they could each contribute to making McKnight an environment flourishing in respect throughout the year.
“Fifth-grade students made morning announcements related to our theme,” she said.
She said that they also played their school song for students to sing along with in classrooms.
“Students will use a t-chart to make a comparison between what we have to do to help a flower grow and what we have to do to help respect grow and be maintained at EMK,” she said. “Students also had the opportunity to watch a video of stories read aloud.”
She said that K-2 watched The Rainbow Fish and grades 3-5 watched Stellaluna.
“Mr. Page (the librarian) had Respect themed literature displayed in the library for students,” she said. “Mrs. Rogers conducted lessons that focus on our theme of Respect to all students.”
Melvin H. Kreps Middle School Principal Lori Emmerson said that the students were asked to create a video Public Service Announcement (PSA) against bullying.
“They worked with the counselors to make the video and it was played in every home room on Monday,” she said.
She said that Tuesday and Wednesday their students and staff completed the following sentence starters “I inspire others to embrace our core values by . . .” and “Others inspire me to embrace our core values by . . . .”
“We will be using the cards to create a bulletin board,” she said.
She said that on Thursday some students read their cards over the loudspeaker.
On Friday, Oct. 9, students in all the schools we asked to wear white to represent an oath to stand together to “white out” bullying to support a district initiative.
“On this day, we wore white as a district to remind everyone not to participate in bullying activities in our school,” said Principal Dias.
HIB specialists Kristen Cifuentes and Joe O’Rane, both counselors, did an HIB refresher for teachers and a refresher assembly for kids this week.
According to the New Jersey Department of Education, School Violence Awareness Week requires that the week beginning with the third Monday in October of each year, which is Oct. 19-23, be designated as School Violence Awareness Week in New Jersey.
Hightstown High School Principal Dennis Vinson said that the high school is participating in the School Violence Awareness Week.
“This week is School Violence Awareness week, as determined by the State of NJ,” he said. “Jerry Santoleri and librarian Amy Gazaleh have set up some stations in the library where students can peruse books dealing with this issue, listen to podcasts of real teens talking about being in abusive relationships, and explore Teen Health & Wellness.”
A podcast called Crushed: Teens and Dating Abuse has been set up for students to listen in the library where they can listen to raw and intimate Radio Rookies series which gives a group of young New Yorkers the chance to tell their own stories and ask tough questions while cracking open the silence surrounding dating abuse, according to the website.
