Hon. Earl Rowe Public School may not be a large school – it currently has just under 200 students enrolled in grades JK through 8 – but it’s leading the way with its anti-bullying campaign, not only during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week but throughout the year.
That’s in large part thanks to the “Earl Rowe Chooses Kind” campaign, that emphasizes the importance of kindness within the school community, and its Safe Schools Team – students, from Grade 4 through 8, who work with staff to present a message of unity and acceptance.
“We focus on equity and inclusivity, indigenous education, health and wellness, and diversity,” said Principal Christopher Kemp.
And during Bullying Awareness Week, the focus is also on sending a strong anti-bullying message, through morning announcements and in-class activities that have included videos, discussions, and the creation of a Unity Tree.
Every student in every class was asked to create one leaf for the Unity Tree, set up in the main hall at the school on Bradford West Gwillimbury's 12th Line, and include an anti-bullying message inspired by the campaign.
But while the Unity Tree came with orange leaves, all the same size and shape, classrooms have been making their own – using different colours, sizes and shapes to represent the school’s diversity.
“The Unity Tree has different shapes, types and colours symbolizing diversity and uniqueness that we celebrate every day,” said Kemp. “The leaders helped the younger grades to record messages and cut out leaves.”
The Safe Schools Team visited each classroom earlier this week, to pose three challenging questions: If you planted a seed, what would you tell your seed about bullying? What can you do to change your school’s culture about bullying? How can you support a friend or fellow student who is being bullied?
“We talk about it pretty much every day,” said one member of the Safe Schools Team – not only bringing awareness of the problem, but of the solutions.
And the students themselves – some as young as kindergarten-age – have come up with ideas to fight bullying, and make their school a safer, kinder place.
Asked if they had ever experienced bullying themselves, every student on the Safer Schools Team held up a hand – but they all hoped, through their actions and the anti-bullying campaign, that that will change.
