Acceptance, inclusion and kindness are year-round messages at Edmund W. Miles Middle School in the Amityville Union Free School District, but those community building traits were particularly emphasized on Oct. 21 when the school celebrated Unity Day.
October marks National Bully Prevention Month, an initiative of the PACER Center, and the middle school participates every year. Social worker Beatriz Offitto said that Unity Day is the centerpiece of this awareness campaign to show that the school community stands together against bullying. Students and staff were encouraged to wear orange to show their support.
Throughout the week of Oct. 19-23, several related topics were addressed in advisory periods including bullying, digital media and the brain, on-screen diversity and the science of character. Because students are connected digitally in many ways, including social media, the impacts of cyberbullying were also discussed.
Photo captions:
1: Edmund W. Miles Middle School student and staff wore orange on Oct. 21 for Unity Day, part of National Bullying Prevention Month. Students, from left, are Sasha Urias, Dante Intriago, Aurora Morales and Daniel Glasgow. Staff, from left, are social worker Beatriz Offitto, English teacher Kelly Wilson, Principal Earl Mitchell and assistant principals Lurdez Berrios and Paul Duguay.
2: Teachers Megan Martin and John Katsigiorgis presented a character education during an advisory period.
Photos courtesy of the Amityville Union Free School District
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