WELLINGTON, Ohio — October is National Bullying Prevention Month and in Lorain County, Wellington Exempted Village Schools are raising awareness about bullying and cyberbullying among students.
It's all part of "Kindland," a Cleveland-based initiative launched in 2020 by the non-profit group Values in Action.
"I believe bullying is an issue at our school," says McCormick Middle School Principal John Telloini. "I've been in other districts and it's also there too and it's something that we can't tolerate."
"Mostly they (bullies) hang out with a lot of people in groups and they just taslk and laugh about them," adds fifth-grader Lilly McRoberts. "They're just not being kind."
So they are trying to build a culture of anti-bullying at McCormick.
"We teach positive behavior, we have rewards, we have expectations of good behavior and 'Kindland' just fits perfectly into that," says Telloini.
Wellington schools recently adopted the "Kindness Initiative" and on Wednesday, the district's fourth through ninth graders at McCormick Middle School and Wellington High School rallied for more kindness.
Students pledged to be kind to one another and "stick together" against bullying.
"We start with duct tape to show how strong it is, how it can be used for a lot of things equated to friendships and staying together," explains Ronald Kisner of the Kindness Initiative. "The host then takes one piece of duct tape and tears it when it's isolated, you so see when you're by yourself you can easily be separated. The lesson there is that if you get a friend, you two can be strong together and really create a strong culture here at McCormick."
Recognizing and sharing the acts of kindness around us through the Kindland Initiative is an effort to inspire positivity and goodness, while eliminating bullying in our schools.
"It gave me a boost of energy when it comes to kindness," says McCormick sixth grader Pierce Barbara. "So then, it's like level up!"
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