Number of Participants: 18
Hours Donated: 2
Value of Time Served: $304
Event Type: Children & Youth
Sport: Schools
Date: October 23, 2019
Location:
Garden City
NY, USA
About:
The Garden City School District celebrated Unity Day on Oct. 23, with lessons and activities in observance of the nationally designated day, part of Bullying Prevention Month.
Garden City Middle School hosted numerous activities and events in celebration of Unity Day on Oct. 23. Students and staff members wore orange – the national color that symbolizes the stand against bullying. Staff and members of the school’s Anti-Bullying Club arrived early to greet students as they arrived. Club members handed out written compliments to students.
Coordinated by the school’s Anti-Bully Task Force, the day included team-building activities inside the classrooms, including an “Upstander Idol” game in which students collaborated to develop songs that inspired acceptance and taking stands against bullying behavior. Students also took a Kindness Challenge, designing hands with thoughtful messages that were joined together and displayed in unison.
Teamwork was on display during lunch periods, as students participated in grade-appropriate trivia tournaments. Later in the day, Assistant Principal Dan Fasano and students Niamh Pfaff and James Ullrich gave a presentation on the GC Cares Community Service program, which provides middle school students with opportunities to pursue volunteer work in the community. More than 10,000 hours of community service have been accumulated by students since the program began six years ago.
Author Gordan Korman also spoke about his book “Restart,” the story of a bully who gets amnesia. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office provided a presentation, “Stop Then Send,” about online etiquette and how to address cyberbullying.