Hardin County School Promotes Anti-Bullying Campaign
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This week, Hardin County Middle School is taking extra steps to raise awareness about bullying. School organizers call it Anti-Bully Awareness Week, and said it is a way for students to have fun, while reminding them to treat others the way they would want to be treated. “It’s just good for kids at this age to be aware of what’s going on and we don’t have any real problems with bullying, but to say we don’t have any problems with bullying would be crazy because every school does,” said Principal Steve Haffly. HCMS has been actively promoting its anti-bullying program for the past five years. The program cannot always prevent bullying, but organizers said it does encourage students to speak up. “The impact of the program, and today and all week is to encourage those that are bystanders to take an active part and to stand up, never be silent, and to tell when they see bullying going on or empower them to step in and stop the bullying themselves,” said Anti-Bully Coordinator Judie Burnham. This week, the school invited anti-bullying activist Thomas Brown to speak to both parents and students about bullying, and what can be done to stop it. The school said it does not just promote anti-bullying this week, but all year long. Every Wednesday teachers hold lessons, and they post reminder signs all around the school. “Then we have our (anti) bullying rules, that we recite every single morning after the pledge, they know them by memory, and we have shirts with the (anti) bully rules on the back,” Burnham said. School officials believe the program has changed the atmosphere of their school for the past five years. “We see so much more empathy,” Burnham said. “Kids have been so much kinder to each other.” “We can’t eradicate bullying, but we can at least give kids a way to deal with it,” Haffly said. Anti-Bully Awareness Week continues in Hardin County through Thursday. Students plan to hold a rally, where they will perform anti-bullying skits, poetry and music.
