Today, Feb. 28, is Pink Shirt Day, a day to raise awareness about the ills and scourge of bullying. The idea behind it began back in 2007 when two high school students in Berwick, Nova Scotia — Davis Shepherd and Travis Price — organized a protest of sorts after seeing a Grade 9 student at their school be bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school.
It’s now taken off worldwide and that includes here in Yellowknife. Several schools will be organizing events to mark the occasion, including Mildred Hall School. They have a full day planned and it begins with a school-wide assembly this morning, said Ryan Nichols, the school’s vice-principal.
“We’ve purchased hoodies for the teachers and T-shirts for the students to wear,” he said. “We’ll pass those out and talk about the meaning of the shirt and why it’s important. We’re a pretty welcoming school to anyone, no matter their background of if they’re new to the city or if they’ve been here for years.”
Once everyone is decked out in their shirts, Nichols said there will be a full group photo and the students will take part in activities in their classes.
The last portion of the day will be spent playing what’s known as Kindness Bingo, he added.
“All of the classes will log into Google Meet and one of our PSTs (personal support teachers) will act as the caller,” he said. “We have prizes for anyone who gets a bingo, but everyone will end up getting something when it’s all done.”
There has been very little problem with bullying at the school, said Nichols, and if it happens, it’s dealt with swiftly.
At Sir John Franklin High School, the staff will be dressed in pink, but that’s not all, said Angels Martin, head of the school’s student services department.
“We also have our Indigenous languages month-end event, where there’s a short film festival at lunch,”she said.
It’s the first year the school’s doing this film festival, Martin explained; she added the idea came from her Grade 9 students.
Martin also said that her school has been celebrating Pink Shirt Day for the 12 years she’s been there
Still, there’s always been an effort to make her school a bully-free zone.
“We’ve been working really hard with our student body to make our school a safe place. We are wearing pink in support of inclusivity and kindness,” she said.
Even with everything that’s been talked about when it comes to bullying, said Nichols, there shouldn’t be a need for a day such as this.
“Being kind is something we should all be striving for, but we’re still doing (Pink Shirt Day),” he said. “It’s all about getting the message across and making sure everyone knows that it’s wrong.”