Port Washington Students Unite Against Bullying

All schools in the Port Washington Union Free School District dressed up in orange in honor of standing up to bullying on Unity Day.

The district’s third annual Unity Day, launched by the Safety and Substance Abuse Task Force, was celebrated through various anti-bullying lessons and demonstrations, including numerous group efforts among teachers and their students to show kindness toward each other.

In the elementary schools, guidance counselors took the lead and teachers, students, staff and administrators all followed suit with anti-bullying lessons in the classrooms, posters on the walls and regular announcements.

Health teachers at Weber Middle School led similar age-appropriate projects, while at Schreiber High School, health students and teachers teamed up with student organizations such as the Letter Club, Natural Helpers and the athletic teams to promote lessons and activities.

The trees along Campus Drive were draped with orange ribbons, and the task force distributed more than 6,000 orange bracelets to students throughout the district. Students, faculty and staff all donned orange, the official color of standing up to bullying as designated by the National Bullying Prevention Center.

Salem Elementary School students partnered as book buddies to read together and discuss bullying, specifically upper-grade classes meeting with the primary grades. The older and younger students also collaborated to create orange chain links, writing different anti-bullying messages on them.

Students at Daly Elementary School attended an assembly and watched a video of student testimonials on bullying. Principal Sheri Suzzan shared a special anti-bullying poem and everyone sang the anti-bullying song “Don’t Laugh at Me.” Students also created orange links and walked together around Daly Field.

For the third consecutive year, students, faculty and support staff at Sousa Elementary School assembled on the school lawn to create a visual human message symbolic of Unity Day. This year they formed a large smiley face before breaking away to dance the “Whip/Nae Nae.”

Guggenheim Elementary School students created a human chain of their own, forming the word “unity” on the school lawn. Students also signed a pledge to make good choices and sang “Don’t Laugh at Me” in unison, as well.

Manorhaven Elementary School’s unity assembly reminded children to spread kindness and be “bucket fillers” by initiating positive acts of kindness toward others to make them feel good. Students also signed pledges to “be a kid against bullying,” and physical education classes held buddy runs, with the older students leading the kindergartners.

The day culminated with an inaugural Unity Walk on the Schreiber High School track, which included student and staff recitals and musical performances that carried messages of kindness, acceptance and inclusion. The reading of Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” kicked off the event, followed by acoustic guitar sets by students, dance routines by teachers, students and athletes, a one-mile walk through the cross-country trail by the cross-country teams and a final lap led by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney.

Port Washington UFSD received $25,000 in bullet aid from New York State Sen. Jack Martins that was earmarked for the Safety and Substance Abuse Task Force activities, including Unity Day. Board of Education President Karen Sloan and Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics Stephanie Joannon co-chair the task force.

Over the past eight years, the task force has spearheaded a wide range of programs and guest speaker visits, all with the goal of educating on the dangers of substance abuse and types of prevention, as well as providing strategies in promoting a safe and healthy lifestyle.

“It’s events like these that allow our students and staff to step outside of their regular roles and the daily rigors of the required curriculum to send an important message, show their solidarity, and inspire others to stand up to bullying and be benevolent,” said Dr. Mooney. “We thank Sen. Martins and the task force for making Unity Day a special event in our district, year after year.”

Story by Syntax, Photos courtesy of the Port Washington School District

1. Sousa ES formed a human smiley face.
2. The track at Campus Drive was filled with members of the school community for the inaugural Unity Walk.
3. Guggenheim ES students sign a pledge to take a stand against bullying.
4. Salem ES youngsters created a “Unity Chain” writing anti bullying messages on the links.