Picture this: pink shirts with caring and heartfelt messages crowding the foyer of St. Augustine to speak out against bullying. “Don’t stand by – stand up, stand strong, stand together.” “Arrêtons l’intimidation.” “Be buddies, not bullies.”

At the end of October, Spectrum organized a pink shirt initiative where homeroom classes wrote inclusive and supportive messages on the pink shirts. The students have done a fantastic job and the shirts are now hung up in the foyer. It is important that victims of bullying know that they are not alone and there is always help and support available. Antonia P., a member of Spectrum says, “The pink shirt initiative is a great way to show that bullying is not be tolerated in any shape or form.” Not only does this initiative raise awareness about anti-bullying, but it also promotes gender and sexuality awareness (GSA) and mental health throughout the school.

This all started ten years ago in Nova Scotia by a small act of kindness by two teens. When a classmate was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school, two boys organized a school-wide campaign to wear pink to stand up for him. All the students in their school were encouraged to wear pink and they even distributed pink shirts in support of the innocent victim. Since then, pink has become a symbol of anti-bullying. This pink shirt initiative is a tradition that grows stronger every year here at St. Augustine, and we look forward to next year’s Pink Shirt Day.

By: Kristy L.
11/10/2017