The first full week in October (which is Bullying Prevention Month) has been designated as Kansas Anti-Bullying Awareness Week.  Lincoln Elementary School and Hays Middle School kicked the week off on Monday October 7th with “Blue Shirt Day,” a national effort encouraging parents and children to wear blue shirts to bring awareness to the cause of bullying prevention.

USD 489 Superintendent Dean Katt said that while he wasn’t sure what each school has planned, every school in the district is taking steps to prevent bullying and raise awareness among students and staff in conjunction with the week.

Lincoln Elementary Principle Elaine Rohleder told Hays Post that she doesn’t believe bullying is a large problem with her students.  She attributes this to the anti-bullying rules the school has had in place for the past 15 years as well as the efforts of teachers and parents.

“The teachers have talked to the kids over and over about how wrong bullying is,  if you see it what to do, if you’re being bullied what to do.  Also, kids come home and say this is what happened.  If parents feel it’s bullying they call me and we take care of the situation.  I think we’ve done a good job of informing kids of how to get help and what to do in case [they] are bullied.”

Rohleder said that the anti-bullying rules are discussed during morning announcements every day, and those rules are currently on the back of school shirts.  Students have also created “anti-bullying posters” to be hung around school to serve as yet another reminder.

She added that she feels the key to reducing bullying is to help establish positive character traits within children.

“I think we do a good job of that here at school. I see kids helping other students that might struggle in some areas.  I think that kindness is so key and having that empathy towards other people and making sure that you’re always willing to help them.”