Fourth grader Lillee Nolan at El Roble Elementary School didn’t mind getting paint on her hands Friday as she joined the rest of her schoolmates in a school-wide anti-bullying campaign event.
The 9-year-old’s handprint was one of more than 600 pressed onto one of three plywood boards with the message of “I’m committed to do my part. Hands Down against Bullying.”
“I think it will help stop bullying a little bit,” said Nolan, a student council member who also, like every student at El Roble, signed an anti-bullying contract as part of the school pledge. “That actually meant a lot to me because I used to get bullied and my friends used to be bullied.”
El Roble’s Home and School Club parents were outside on the campus blacktop facilitating the anti-bullying event, as each class was brought over by their teacher, had one hand painted either green or white, made their handprint on the board and then got washed off before returning to class.
Fourth-grader Jessi Barry, 9, agreed that the event was a good idea.
“I think it’s fun. I like to play sports and help people not get bullied,” he said. “I think it will help our school so everyone can be happy.”
Principal Scott Otteson, who has been at El Roble for four years, couldn’t have been happier to take part in the anti-bullying event that he said is part of Gilroy Unified School District-wide’s Olweus Bullying Prevention Program for safer schools and safer communities.
“It teaches more about compassion and respecting everyone, not just your best friends,” Otteson said. “It does teach them to be better people and it goes along with us being a ‘Character Counts’ school.”
Otteson, noting that bullying has never been a problem during his term at El Roble, described how students are already making the right choices. For instance, students are not excluding others from games at recess – which is considered a form of bullying – and have been very inviting to special education students.
“It’s fun to help our school not have bullying,” said 9-year-old Reymundo Sanchez before making his way back to class while the next group of students joined the fun. El Roble has approximately 650 students in grade levels ranging from transitional kindergarten to fifth grade.
All around campus, there are “No Bullying Zone” signs posted – and the outside picnic tables were freshly painted with positive messages written on them such as “Lend a Hand,” “Keep Smiling,” “Spread Happiness” and “Make Good Choices.”
“Everything has been done to make the school environment a more positive one,” shared Home and School Club President Dominic Cefalu, who has a kindergartner and second-grader attending El Roble. “We wanted more of a visual impact, so when they are sitting eating lunch or walking around campus, they can be reminded of the pledge they made.”
Otteson said the anti-bullying event was a collaborative effort among parents, teachers, police and representatives from Rebekah Children’s Services.
“I think it creates a more positive feeling around our school,” said Home and School Club member Ginger Hulbert, who has a second- and fourth-grader at El Roble. “It creates a more positive, more inclusive environment.”
