Clarence Elementary Students Band Together Against Bullying on Unity Day

Elementary students across the Clarence Central School District wore orange and shared messages of kindness to stand against bullying as they marked Unity Day on October 16.

The nationwide event, which falls during National Bullying Prevention Month in October, encourages students to stand for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. In Clarence, the anti-bullying message had been shared in classroom discussions for weeks and promoted at assemblies and during morning announcements.

“Hopefully they can develop strategies that they can use in their lives,” said Hannah Jerozal, Elementary Guidance Department Chair, who helped plan the event. “They can be kind and accept others, and if they see bullying and unkindness they can say this is not OK.”

The classroom conversations culminated in students writing down something they could do personally to make their school safer against bullying. Their messages were rolled into chain links, which were hooked together and prominently displayed across the buildings. 

Some of the students wrote short messages like “Encourage others,” “Be respectful” and “Keep being nice,” while others took the time to write out longer messages like “Be kind to everyone and help when they are sad and make people feel like they belong here and are loved.”

More information about Unity Day can be found at https://www.pacer.org/bullying/nbpm/unity-day.asp.