INNISFAIL -- It was a day to shed gloom and all negativity. It was, after all, a day when kindness with a smile ruled.
Last week on Feb. 27 thousands of young people and adults in Innisfail and the region proudly showed off that positive spirit to mark Pink Shirt Day, an anti-bullying movement started in 2007 when two Grade 9 students from Nova Scotia took a stand against homophobic bullying towards a classmate.
Pink Shirt Day was an especially big deal at École Innisfail Middle School where scores and scores of students and staff dressed up in pink and honoured this year's Be Kind theme, particularly for outside of school when on social media.
"It's (social media) a great tool, but just like with anything you can get yourself into trouble and so we are trying to help them (students) figure it out," said Clark Peters, the school's principal, noting the school year can be an "awkward" time of life for many of his 380 students from grades 5 to 8. "It is (bullying) something that doesn't leave our minds ever, and so yes, we are all wearing pink and it brings it to the forefront.
"But it is part of our discussions all the time and if you think about it when you discipline a child the big piece you want out of that is, 'OK, what did you learn from that? What are you going to change for next time?' and whether it is a mistake on the playground, mistake in the hallway or a mistake online, you still strive for that," he added. "It is part of their learning. Their brains are not fully developed at this age, so they are going to make mistakes."
Melissa Johnson, a Grade 8 teacher, took the lead in organizing Pink Shirt Day at the school, which included creating a huge banner with a big I Choose Kindness message. Students were encouraged to sign the banner as a way to show their complete support for kindness over bullying. During a break in the morning scores and scores of students gathered with teachers for a group photograph.
Johnson said the process to create a memorable Pink Shirt Day began when the school's Mustang Leadership Kids chose the Rise Above film for last month's activity. The film is about bullying and the kids discussed Pink Shirt Day with a message of standing up for each other and standing up against bullying, she said.
Johnson said she has also seen a rise in bad behaviour on social media, noting many young people are on their cellphone up to nine to 10 hours a day.
"Because they are spending so much time there they are really stepping outside the classroom instead of being focused on what is happening in real life," she said. "Because of that they are really glued to it and are looking for that satisfaction continuously and a lot of that satisfaction is having negative influences on their education.
"Cyberbullying is something we are trying to stop happening because kids are going home now and seeing bullying happening at home as well as during the day, so they are never escaping it," added Johnson.
"We are trying to teach them to have good digital citizenship outside of school as well."
In the meantime, if any citizen or someone he or she knows is being bullied they can call the 24-hour Bullying Helpline (1-888-456-2323), or use the Alberta.ca/BullyingChat available daily from noon to 8 p.m. Citizens can also access more information online at Alberta.ca/bullying
