Thousands of students and teachers across Nova Scotia donned pink Thursday to show their support for Stand up Against Bullying Day.
The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board chose Stand up Against Bullying Day to launch their new anti-bullying initiative – Stand Up. Speak Out. Stop Bullying. Together. - aimed at raising awareness in all 76 of its schools.
“We’ve been working on this for about six to eight months,” says Gary Clarke, superintendent of the Chignecto-Central Regional School Board. “We want to, as a system, stand up for positive relationships in our schools with our employees and with our students.”
Over 24,000 students and staff across the school board participated in Thursday’s launch via in-class discussions, meetings, assemblies and other events.
“Students in River Hebert are signing up…to be counsellors and officers there,” says Clarke.
Students who feel too shy to speak up about bullying in public are being encouraged to contact Kids Help Phone.
“As much as you come from happy, healthy, loving homes, sometimes it’s really tough to go to mom, or dad, or your principal, or your teachers and say ‘I have a problem,’” says Shelley Richardson from the Kids Help Phone.
Wesley Giffen, a Grade 8 student at the Riverside Education Centre in Milford, hopes the new anti-bullying initiative will put an end to bullying in his school.
“Just try to be a friend to everyone, because if you see some kid being verbally bullied and being sad and depressed, try and go talk to them.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Suzette Belliveau
