October is anti-bullying month, and students at West Hartford’s St. Brigid-St. Augustine have started a ‘No More Bullying’ campaign.

St. Brigid-St. Augustine School kicked off Anti-Bullying Month on Oct. 3. Submitted photo

Submitted by Andrea Austin-Thompson

St. Brigid-St. Augustine School has kicked-off October’s Anti-Bullying Prevention Month, but unfortunately, bullying is affecting schools and lives nationwide.

In an effort to combat bullying and in a show of unity, St. Brigid-St. Augustine School kicked-off the 10th anniversary of October’s “Bullying Prevention Awareness Month” on Monday, Oct. 3, 2016.

At the beginning of each week in October, the campaign highlights a unique theme that promotes anti-bullying.

With a lot of excitement Principal Shevon Hickey, Associate Principal Marge McDonald, and faculty members led 160 students as they showed their commitment to “No More Bullying” by wearing blue shirts all day long as a part of the “Bullying Prevention World Day” kick-off initiative.

Then to reinforce the message, students and faculty gathered in the gymnasium at dismissal and shouted at the top of their lungs multiple times: “No More Bullying.” The sounds of their voices could easily be heard loudly echoing off walls and down the corridor!

Additionally, students were encouraged to spread their personal messages of “No More Bullying” by posting a selfie of themselves in their blue shirts, using the hashtag #SBSSASgoesblue2016.

For the past four years faculty member and certified anti-bullying specialist Melissa Seidl has garnered local and statewide attention for her effective classroom teaching techniques for both students and faculty.

“In order to prevent future tragedies like what we’ve recently seen in schools across the nation and worldwide, we have to break the code of silence around bullying. It is not someone else’s problem it is everyone’s problem,” stated Seidl.

Hickey added, “We are very fortunate to have Ms. Seidl on our faculty. Her expertise in anti-social behavior and bullying is well documented and most definitely appreciated.”

St. Brigid-St. Augustine: A Partnership School  in conjunction with our St. Mary School’s families are proud to celebrate a combined total of 202 years of strong academics, Catholic values, and enriched cultural diversity.

St. Brigid-St. Augustine School located at 100 Mayflower St. in West Hartford; is a full-time faith-based educational program committed to educating the needs of students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. For more information call: (860) 561-2130.