Unity day EMPHASIZES KINDNESS, INCLUSION, BULLYING PREVENTION

By Alyssa Bisram

News Editor

“One out of every five (20.2 percent) students report being bullied,” according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

With the support from the rest of the counseling department, staff, and principal Mr. Robert Johnston, guidance counselor Ms. Ashley Moutinho organized Kennedy’s second annual Unity Day initiative in honor of October being National Bullying Prevention Month to prevent bullying and promote acceptance, inclusion, and unity Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021.

“We’re all going through different things,” said Moutinho. “We just want to remind everyone, even if you don’t like someone, you don’t have to be mean.”

Unity Day and National Bullying Prevention Month are both initiatives created by the PACER (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) Coalition, which formed in 1976 and has since been incorporated as a nonprofit organization, become champions for children with disabilities, and founded a National Bullying Prevention Center with offices in Minneapolis and California.

“National Bullying Prevention Month garners nationwide publicity from major media including CNN, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, People, Ellen DeGeneres’ website, CBS Today Show, and NBC with Brian Williams,” according to pacer.org, the official site of the nonprofit.

After finding out about Unity Day in early Oct. 2020, either through social media or an email, Moutinho was inspired to organize it at the school level.

“As a school counselor, I’m always looking for ways to make our school united,” said Mountinho.

Her initiative was met with enthusiasm from the rest of the counseling department.

“I can say all of the counselors,” said Moutinho. “When I brought it up, everyone jumped and said ‘Yes, let’s get shirts!’ ”

The orange shirts come from PACER’s Unity Day, which is meant to send a visible message that no child should ever experience bullying.

“(Last year) it was just the school counseling department, and as of right now for this year we’re just doing staff,” said Moutinho, who had to get approval from Johnston for the wearing of orange shirts.

She explains it is harder to get approval for students to wear orange shirts due to the district’s citywide dress code policy.

“Maybe next year, depending on how it goes this year and if students see the staff and say ‘hey we want to do that,' students could get involved with wearing the orange shirts,” said Moutinho in an interview before Unity Day.

However, she cites English teacher Ms. Heather DeVeau as the reason behind the initiative extending beyond the counselors to the rest of the staff in 2021.

“She’s the one who said ‘Hey! What if we wanted to do it?’ and then that's when I knew I just had to get the staff involved this year,” said Moutinho.

The counseling department and participating staff hopes the initiative is met with similar reception from the student body.

“I’m seeing a lot of social conflict, probably because students haven’t had this much social interaction since March 2020,” said Moutinho. “There are definitely growing pains, (but it’s important to) emphasize kindness and empathy.”

The first marking period after a year and a half of some form of distance learning is coming to a close Monday, Nov. 1, and it’s been an adjustment for everyone, students and staff alike.

“It’s a part of growing up," said Moutinho. "Learning how to interact with people you get along with, people you don’t get along with, and those you are indifferent to. I’m just looking forward to students being Kennedy Eagles again... kids who help each other out.”

With end of first quarter, seniors reflect on School

By Evi Duro

Staff Writer

Every kid grows up eager for high school after watching all the fun and cliche movies, but is being a senior really like what we see on the big screens?

Seniors in high school break down what it's like to be a senior as they share their experiences so far into their very last year with the first marking period ending Nov. 1, 2021 and what they’re looking forward to as they get through October.

“Being a senior at Kennedy has been mind blowing to me. I've faced my many challenges and I can honestly say I’m proud of myself to have made it this far,” said Israel Jessi Alvarado.

Seniors have been through 12 years of school and preparation for the real world, so it is well within their rights to be proud of themselves for all they have done thus far. Though for some, especially the class of 2022, that feeling won’t come without any obstacles.

“COVID restrictions don't bother me, only at lunch because I have no friends on B days,” said John Tili.

Not only do students have to adapt to new COVID restrictions schoolwide, but their whole schedule has also been completely altered.

“Definitely getting used to block scheduling has been a challenge," said Grace Serro on the matter of the new schedule, though she points out a silver lining: “However, that helps with the workload since deadlines are usually farther apart giving us more time to work on homework.”

Luckily, students are working hard and diligently to turn this year into one of the best by bringing never-done-before events to Kennedy to raise school spirit and provide students, especially seniors, with fun privileges and activities to increase motivation inside and outside the classroom.

“I’m really looking forward to dressing up for Halloween and the potential senior sunrise!” said Serro.

Her enthusiasm is truly contagious. The senior sunrise, paint your parking spot, and a couple of other events in the making are all new and have left students excited to participate. Suddenly, a Monday doesn’t seem so bad when you have an event at the end of the week motivating you. While there won’t always be an elaborate event every week, students can keep up morale at home doing simple things they enjoy.

“To deal with the sometimes heavy workload I do try to prioritize the days I have off from work to really take the time to do some self care. I do love the days where I’m just in bed for most of the day. You truly never fully appreciate a comfy bed until you've had a really long day. Having a steady source of income also lends itself to some retail therapy whenever possible," said Serro.

It is important seniors avoid burnout and exhaustion as they finish off one of their most loaded years of schooling they'll have to go through. To do so, they must prioritize their mental being so they can perform to the best of their abilities, and so what if that means spending a little money here and there? The common denominator across all students seems to be that although there have been many challenges and setbacks, senior year seems promising and exciting.

“I still have a long way to go but it's relieving knowing that as a senior today I will be able to say that I'm capable of graduating high school," said Alvarado.