Foothills elementary started anti bullying week off Monday morning with a flash - mob, that is.
The school assembly was interrupted when the leadership class broke out in song and dance as Principal Kathy Sawatsky was talking about anti bullying.
"By wearing pink this week, we're letting everyone know we will not allow any bullying any where, any time in our school," said Sawatsky.
About 14 Grade 7 students leaped to their feet as Katy Perry's Firework played over the public address system. The students showcased their song and dance, choreographed by teacher Kristin Helfrich, to drive home a message that everyone is unique and has value.
"You don't have to feel like a waste of space. You're original, cannot be replaced, you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine," Perry says in the lyrics of her hit song.
"Last year we showed kids what bullying is. This year we're showing ways to prevent being a target of bullying," said Barb Kelly, Grade 2 teacher and Grade 7 leadership teacher at Foothills. "We're going for a different point of view, what bullies look for, insecurities and a lack of confidence and we're going to try to tackle it from that end. People can figure out who's a bully, but they need help trying to figure out how to prevent being bullied."
After the flash mob performed their song, they continued the strong anti-bullying message of approaching life with a confident attitude, resulting in bullying prevention. The leadership group did two versions of a short skit. The first skit would show a typical outcome of the bullied child running away. Then the skit was repeated, with the bullied child exhibiting confidence under adversity, sending a clear message they would not be intimidated.
"The message of the skits is how to prevent being bullied," said Kelly. "I gave the children tips on prevention and they made up the skits themselves. We find that children will pay more attention when they see the big kids doing something. I think it's important for the younger ones to have students to look up to and it's good to get the point across that way."
