ḰELSET Beliefs/Pink Shirt Day
Observed at ḰELSET on Monday, February 25th
WHAT WE WILL DO ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH
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Students are encouraged to wear school colours of green, blue and pink and/or ḰELSET clothing to illustrate how using our ḰELSET beliefs and W.I.T.S. help to create a cooperative, caring community
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Add in some pink to acknowledge the two boys who took care of another by being kind, considerate, and solving a problem in a peaceful way.
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Students and staff will all be given a special ribbon to wear also. It will have a blue and green foundation (as our KELSET Beliefs are the foundation for all of our learning and actions) and a pink top (in recognition of national Pink Shirt Day.)
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Learning through literature – the ḰELSET library has a collection of books around the theme of social responsibility for staff to share with the students
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Assembly – parents are invited to attend an assembly to kick off the day at 9:15 AM
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We will continue to have a special focus on our KELSET Beliefs throughout the week. We will wear our special ribbons again on Wednesday, February 27th (Pink Shirt Day.) Students and staff are encouraged to also wear their blue/green/pink/KELSET clothing again on the 27th.
What is Pink Shirt Day?
This excerpt from http://www.pinkshirtday.ca/about/ explains where Pink Shirt Day began:
“David Shepherd, Travis Price and their teenage friends organized a high-school protest to wear pink in sympathy with a Grade 9 boy who was being bullied [for wearing a pink shirt]…[They] took a stand against bullying when they protested against the harassment of a new Grade 9 student by distributing pink T-shirts to all the boys in their school.
‘I learned that two people can come up with an idea, run with it, and it can do wonders,’ says Mr. Price, 17, who organized the pink protest. ‘Finally, someone stood up for a weaker kid.’
So Mr. Shepherd and some other headed off to a discount store and bought 50 pink tank tops. They sent out message to schoolmates that night, and the next morning they hauled the shirts to school in a plastic bag.
As they stood in the foyer handing out the shirts, the bullied boy walked in. His face spoke volumes. ‘It looked like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders,’ Mr. Price recalled.
The bullies were never heard from again.”
How can we make this a meaningful day at ḰELSET?
Several ḰELSET staff members recently attended an E.R.A.S.E. Bullying seminar. The facilitator emphasized the importance of developing problem solving strategies with elementary students. Pink Shirt Day affords us an opportunity to call attention to the strategies we use EVERY DAY to develop a strong, confident sense of self. This encourages development of the necessary tools for students to take care of themselves and others (THE POWER OF ONE).
Here are the ḰELSET Beliefs and W.I.T.S, used EVERY DAY at ḰELSET.
OUR BELIEFS
We belong to the ḰELSET Pod
WE TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES BY:
• being responsible and engaged learners
• playing safely and solving problems in peaceful ways
• keeping active and making healthy choices
WE TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER BY:
• cooperating, helping and being kind
• being considerate of individual differences
• including and welcoming others
WE TAKE CARE OF OUR COMMUNITY & OUR WORLD BY:
• being respectful of school property, other people’s belongings and shared spaces
• reducing, re-using and recycling
• supporting those in need
KEY WORDS: COOPERATIVE HONEST HEALTHY SAFE HELPFUL CARING
Use your W.I.T.S. (Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help)