Discovering the Importance of One Kind?

For the month of November, the IB Learner Profile focus was Thinkers. We want to encourage our students to use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. To coincide with the IB Learner Profile focus, TCPS held its annual Bullying Prevention Week from November 15th to 19th.

This year’s national theme was “Reach Out”. Throughout the week, students engaged in various activities to help them understand what bullying prevention looks like and learned how to foster positive interactions and build friendships.  On Monday students participated in our first theme by writing positive messages on yellow ribbons and attaching them to our playfield fence surrounding a large “Yellow Ribbons for Friendship” sign.

Anti-Bullying Week continued on Tuesday with each class being matched with another class for Buddy Day to complete the “Reach Out a Hand” activity which is currently displayed around the school.

On Tuesday the grade 1 classes and on Wednesday the grade 2-6 classes enjoyed a fun House League event day with students and staff, dressed in their House League T-shirts, participated in intramural games in the Gymnasium. Everyone had a great time building teamwork and sportsmanship.

Staff and students arrived at school in pink clothing on Thursday marking the special annual Pink Shirt Day.  Now a movement celebrated globally and inspired by an act of kindness, Pink Shirt Day originated in a High School in Nova Scotia in 2007 when students organized a protest in sympathy for a grade 9 student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Students also watched a Pink Shirt Day video with the message of empowering students to believe in themselves no matter what they may be facing.

The week concluded with a special assembly which included the choir singing “That’s What Friends Are For”, a video highlighting the week’s events, a video presentation from the Elementary SAC and the grade 10 Drama class performed a variety of bullying-themed tableaus.  It was a great week on learning to celebrate each other.