|
|
|
On January 4, 2011, a document,
signed by Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick and Massachusetts Lieutenant
Governor Timothy P. Murray, called a Governor’s Citation of Recognition was presented to Melrose Veterans Memorial
Middle School. The Citation reads: “On behalf of the
citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we are pleased to confer upon your
organization (Melrose
Veterans Memorial
Middle School) this
Governor’s Citation in recognition of the creation, development, and
implementation of your outstanding anti-bullying program.” This is the third year MVMMS has been
involved with the Acts of Kindness anti-bullying program.
This year’s commitment to acts of
kindness is impressive. For example, the
Third Annual MVMMS Acts of Kindness Summit” was held on Monday-Friday, October
3-7, 2011. The objectives of the yearlong Summit
are: 1) To promote school-wide acts of kindness. 2) To hear stories of the positive impact of
acts and kindness and the negative impact of bullying. 3) To highlight the importance of the following
five personal qualities stressed at Melrose
Veterans Memorial
Middle School: honesty,
responsibility, self-management, sociability, and self-esteem. The first assembly held on Monday, October 3,
2011 was: “New Bullying Legislation” –
The Melrose Alliance Against Violence reports that 30% of youths in the United States
are estimated to be involved in bullying, either as a bully, target of bullying
or both. The Massachusetts General Court
passed new anti-bullying laws titled “An Act Relative to Bullying in School “
(s. 2323) which prohibits bullying and cyber-bullying, requires school staff to
report any instance of bullying and retaliation, updates certain civil and
criminal laws to include cyber-behavior and other technology-based or
electronic forms of communication and other provisions.Mr. Muldoon, Assistant Principal, will
explain how schools impacted by the legal requirements of this
legislation. The second assembly was:“Dear Bully: A Heartfelt Message” – Through reading personal essays from the new anthology “Dear Bully” by
young adult authors, viewing video segments featuring young people in bullying
situations, and discussion with the audience, this assembly will address how
bullying hurts and ways we can all make a difference. This assembly was presented by the Melrose
Alliance Against Violence, Alice Wadley, M.Ed., Education & Training
Specialist and Rebecca Mooney, M.Ed., Executive Director.
On
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 the following presentations were held: “Project
Aware: Empowering People to Lead ” –Carl Larkin, Project Aware Coordinator, and six students from Maine will lead the
discussion. The mission and vision of
Project AWARE is to empower young people to lead by addressing issues of
concern in their lives from their perspective and in their voice ... that there
is a place where their thoughts, concerns, and solutions are welcomed and
heard... and from that place, youth-led action is taken.The Project AWARE Players are a troupe of
young people who create skits, video, songs, dances and more that not only
express their concerns about issues such as bullying and harassment, substance
abuse, eating disorders, teen pregnancy, and more but also raise awareness
about healthy choices and natural highs -- including random acts of kindness.Part I - “What Does It Really Mean to be Kind” – A group of
student-leaders will presents a video about one kind act that had a huge impact
on the people around them.The benefits
of being kind and working well with others will be discussed
Part II - “He Said, She Said” –The MVMMS Drama Club, under the direction of
Mr. Bueno, performs their first skit of the school year.This is one-act play titled “He Said, She Said”,
written 89 years ago by Alice Gerstenberg, demonstrates vividly how harmful
impact of unwanted gossip.
“Youth Empowerment Workshops” – a group of thirty middle
school students will delve deeper into the issues discussed during the Acts of
Kindness Summit and develop some yearlong action plans on how to keep MVMMS
engaged. The workshop will offer
students a chance to make a difference.Using games, interactive theatre, and group discussions, facilitators
present information about bullying and/or harassment.
On
Wednesday, October 5, 2011, the following were presented at MVMMS: “Jim
Linehan’s Dance Troupe” - Each performer in the Dance Troupe for New York City
has a unique story to tell, but the general message of educating yourself,
respecting yourself and those around you and, most of all, cultivating your
talents and passion in life, is weaved through each story. A victim of school bullying himself, Jim
Linehan tells the students his personal account of what he went through, how he
rose above his situation and, today, uses his experiences to motivate and
inspire young kids to focus on what they like about themselves and how they can
start to share their unique talents and gifts with the world.
In the evening there was a presentation: “Acts of Kindness:
Parent Night” - There will be a workshop titled The Social Media – Revolution: Facing Up to Facebook for parents of
MVMMS students featuring Nina Pomponio, Assistant District Attorney and
Prevention Education Coordinator or the Middlesex Partnerships for Youth. The workshop take a practical approach to
Facebook, including a systematic guide to the every-changing privacy settings
On
Thursday, October 6, 2011 the presentations were: Part I – “Dr. Ruby” - The
story of Dr. Ruby’s accomplishments and kind acts will be shared by her
descendants. Dr. Ruby Shu was a Japanese-American
who spent time in an interment camp in the United States during World War
II. Dr. Ruby Shu was the first female
Japanese-American doctor in the United
States.Her story, her vision, and her accomplishment will be share by her
grandchildren. This is truly a
remarkable story of compassion and humanity. Part II - “One” by Kathryn Otoshi – The MVMMS Faculty Players will
explain Otoshi’s book titled “One.” The
theme is acceptance and tolerance. How
one voice can count and affect change.Many times we think "I'm so small. What can I do?" But we do
have an effect.It's about changing
thinking. When one person stands up for
something, it might be just enough to tip the next person over and inspire him
or her to also stand up. Later, “Rock
Out Bullying” – Original musical messages will be delivered by “Dalton &
Dylan” and “Hayley Reardon.” Both
performers are in the final production stages of a documentary titled “Bullied
to Silence.”
On
Friday, October 7, 2011 the assembly was: “Rachel’s Challenge” –Rachel Scott, the first victim of the
Columbine High School Shootings, touched the lives of many with her compassion
and kindness. The audience will be
invited to participate in Rachel’s Challenge. Later students wrote their “Reflection Essay” –A student evaluation and/or reflection essay
about the Third Annual MVMMS Acts of Kindness Summit." Posted by Principal Brow - 01/04/2012
|
