The Croton-Harmon schools celebrated Unity Day on Oct. 21, with students and staff members pledging to prevent bullying and support each other within the school community. Throughout the month, students in each school took part in various activities and assemblies that emphasized a bullying prevention message.
At Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School, students held discussions about what it means to be an “upstander” – a word coined to capture the behavior of someone who wants to help others and not be a bystander.“We want to illustrate to students that the world they inherit is the world they will create through their daily actions and attitudes toward other people,” Assistant Principal Michael Plotkin said. “It’s probably one of the most important tasks we have as educators: to create empathic, resilient people who will not accept victimhood.”
During their lunch periods, students signed a Unity Day banner and vowed to stand against bullying by creating an orange unity chain. They talked about ways they can reach out to their peers and make everyone feel welcomed at school.
“We don’t want kids to feel alone because they’re being bullied,” sixth-grader Paige Jones said. “We can help them.”
PVC has been engaged in a number of activities all month long as part of Bullying Prevention Month.
“All of our advisory lessons have focused on bullying prevention,” said Plotkin. “And at the end of the month, I am taking a group of student ambassadors to a seminar about how to create upstanders.”
In addition, PVC has been named a Champion Against Bullying school by the national Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights for its involvement in Unity Day and Bullying Prevention Month.
“This distinction is symbolic and allows people to understand who we are and what is important to us,” said Plotkin.
Teen Leadership Council members at Croton-Harmon High School assisted other students in signing the Unity Day pledge banner and handed out orange “Croton Unites” bracelets. The high school was the first school in the country to adopt the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program on Unity Day in 2014.“I signed the pledge because I think it’s very important to establish a sense of community within a school,” said junior Jamie Zanfardino, a member of the Teen Leadership Council. “It’s great to have people around you who support and respect you.”
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