Pittsfield High School Students Unite Against Bullying
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) at Pittsfield High School, in collaboration with the Pittsfield Prevention Partnership, wore orange as part of National Bullying Prevention Month to spread awareness on Unity Day on Oct. 22.
Unity Day represents a nationwide opportunity for both youth and adults to create awareness by standing up to bullying. On this day, SADD students, along with coordinators Courtney Shepard and Alison Charles, put up a poster that read “#Happy2bSadd Unity Day” and asked students and staff at PHS to sign their names in solidarity.
Earlier in the week, students were also given orange slips on which they wrote how they play their part to make PHS a safe and welcoming environment for all. These slips of orange paper were all linked together to represent the entire school standing up for a common, united cause.
Unity Day is more than just about bullying; it stands for living above the influence of drugs, of violence and of other negative forces, students said.
"This was a day where we could all come together to stand up against one of the biggest problems in high school," student Lauren Carnevale said.
This day of solidarity was not only an opportunity to rally against bullying, but also a moment which gave way to an educational environment where students and staff can support one another, and work towards creating a climate in which each and every student feels safe and protected.
"The student body at PHS really do want to work together for positive reasons," said Tony DeGregorio.
SADD is open to any student who wants to contribute to creating a positive school climate. Each Pittsfield middle school and high school has a SADD chapter, and students can join at any time. Many SADD activities are coordinated with the PPP and include Positive Social Norms Poster Campaign, Sticker Shock, Shoulder Taps, and other drug-free youth events. For more information, or to learn about joining SADD, contact:
* Pittsfield High School: Alison Charles (acharles@pittsfield.net) or Courtney Shepard (cshepard@pitstfield.net)
* Taconic High School: April Nutting (anutting@pittsfield.net)
* Reid Middle School: Linda Whitacre (lwhitacre@pittsfield.net) or Kristin Leonard (kleonard@pitstfield.net)
* Herberg Middle School: Tracy Deluce (tdeluce@pitstfield.net) or Eric Nacsin (enacsin@pitstfield.net)
* Pittsfield Prevention Partnership: Arsema Abegaz (aabegaz@berkshireunitedway.org).
Tags: bullying, PHS,
