Posted: May 4, 2012 3:29 PM by Christina Lysacek
Chief Joseph and Sacajawea Middle Schools joined more than 1,000,000 students in 32 different countries this morning in taking a stand against bullying.
The two schools were joined via Skype and pledged to stand as part of ‘Stand for Change' Day.
"When we heard at 10:00 Mountain Time that over 1,000,000 students would be standing up with us we were thrilled. It's just amazing that all these people agreed that we should stop bullying," said Evan Bradford, a Chief Joseph 8th grader, who is also a member of the Pop Rocks club, whose participants help to prevent bullying.
Montana State basketball player, Cody Anderson, as well as two Bozeman High School students who are involved in a bullying committee, heard about the assembly, and showed up to support the cause. "I had a lot of experience with bullying as a middle schooler, so to be able to help kids who may have been in my position and encourage them to stand up for bullying I think is very important for me personally," said Rachel Astrup, a junior at Bozeman High School.
The assembly was led by students, which is something that is important to the middle school faculty. "Students hold all the power in our school. If a student were to tell another student it's not cool to bully someone, the students are more likely to listen to them than an adult," said Brian Ayers, Chief Joseph Assistant Principal.
Chief Joseph and Sacajawea Middle Schools chose to kick-off the Olweus anti-bullying program with the ‘Stand for Change' assembly. The other schools in the district will choose their own method for jumpstarting the program later this spring.
"If we can change the hearts of our children, then we can change the world because that's our future," said Ayers.
Once a month starting on Monday, CJMS students will have classroom discussions about bullying.
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