Hodgdon civil rights team sponsors ‘No Name Calling’ week

    HODGDON — The Mill Pond School Civil Rights Team in Hodgdon sponsored “No Name Calling Week Jan. 22 through Jan. 25.
Pioneer Times Photo/Sarah Berthiaume
BEING KIND — Members of the Civil Rights Team at Mill Pond School in Hodgdon sponsored “No Name Calling Week” at their school on Jan. 22 through Jan. 25. Their efforts included a “Kindness Chain” (pictured on the wall behind them), special radio spots, posters and more. Team members include, from left: front, Jaimee Theriault, Toni Gillotti and Rachel Harmon; back, Micayla Fitzpatrick, Deserae Brewer and Cassidy Clark, Samantha Palmer, Emily Transue, Faculty Advisor Mary Harbison and Hannah Chapla.
    They sponsored many activities throughout the week including having the entire school participate in making a “Kindness Chain.” Each classroom was given strips of paper to document each time an act of kindness was performed. The strips were made into chains, and each chain was collected then hung in the gym with a big sign stating, “Each link represents an act of kindness performed by someone in this building.” Over 400 acts of kindness were documented!
    Other activities the Civil Rights team members participated in were radio spots to highlight how true friends behave, reading books on friendship to students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5, hanging posters around the school with anti-bullying messages, having books displayed in the library with no-bullying themes, having students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 3 sign a “Kids against Bullying” pledge and reading messages over the intercom each morning highlighting the traits found in true friends.
    An ongoing project the team adds to each week is the “Word Wall” highlighting and defining both positive and negative words and why the negative words should not be used.
    Future plans for the team include the possibility of an interactive theater presentation and posting information about cyber and text bullying.