Nat'l Bullying Prevention Month In Holmdel Public Schools

HOLMDEL, NJ — October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and Holmdel public schools have a wide range of activities planned. Here's what they've done and what is yet to come this October:

The first Monday in October was designated as the Week of Respect. All Holmdel students and teachers wore blue on Oct. 7 to highlight awareness of bullying and cyberbullying, said superintendent Dr. Robert McGarry.

At Satz Middle School, students talked about HIB (harassment, intimidation and bullying) and the students developed their own individual "action plans" for when they see bullying, harassment or intimidation happening. All month long, Satz students can also write positive anonymous messages on a bulletin board hanging in the front hallway.

At Village School, students wore silly socks to school last Tuesday to “sock it” to bullying. On Thursday they "Threw Kindness Like Confetti” and made posters and signs with that message (they were also encouraged to wear as many colors as they possibly could). And on Friday all the students were allowed to wear sweatpants to school, to show that being kind and respectful is “no sweat."

Indian Hill elementary did the same, but on Tuesday they also had a special guest speaker, former student Olivia Moglino who talked about how she personally overcame obstacles and ended up starting a business to support food allergies, Liv Nut Free bakery in Shrewsbury.

"You can join us in recognizing the Week of Respect in your home," said superintendent McGarry. "I recently started following the work of educational psychologist Dr. Michele Borba (author of “Unselfie”). Dr. Borba has put together a list of 35 Activities to Teach Respect, many of which can be adapted for home use. I hope you will consider engaging in one of these in your home."

Below, three teachers at Satz Middle School talked to kids last week about bullying:

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