Three words – Because Nice Matters – are written on a plaque that hangs on the wall of the office of Judy Stapleton, an Assistant Principal in charge of discipline at Great Oak High School. Those three words are inspiring a revolutionary grass roots movement that is changing the culture at her school, permeating throughout the district and is now reaching out into the community. The movement is growing, even attracting the attention of professors at USC and in Israel, according to Stapleton. I saw the plaque in a catalog, said Stapleton, and my first thought was ‘what a sad commentary on our society that we need to be reminded’ and then it dawned on me that we do need to be reminded – and held accountable. So I bought it and hung it on my office wall. Stapleton also said that 40 percent of all high school bullies have a felony on their record by age 25. The three words inspired Stapleton to reach out to her coworker at the Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD), Michael Hubbard, with a plan to emphasize being nice as a pre-emptive educational approach to the disciplinary challenges – fights, bullying, etc. - experienced in school environments. The goal was to make the campus a Bully-Free Zone. Stapleton teamed up with Don Skaggs (activities director) and Lisa Balka (in charge of Link Crew, a peer leader program). The campaign rolled out at Great Oak High School four years ago with events and posters sharing the harmful effects of bullying and the importance of being nice. There was a large banner poster reading We’re All Not That Different upon which students placed their handprints in either black or purple paint. Students were encouraged to wear purple and black clothing on a Thursday, signifying the bruising – internal and external – suffered by victims of physical, verbal and emotional abuse. Students were then encouraged to wear white shirts on Friday, signifying a clean slate where everyone starts fresh. The different clothing colors made a visual impact on students and teachers alike, shared Stapleton. Stapleton said she has noticed a definite decrease each year in the number and severity of incidents reported on her campus of almost 4,000 students. Following the success of the program at Great Oak, Because Nice Matters was introduced to TVUSD’s Governing Board and the district’s principals. The district decided to take the campaign districtwide to its 27 schools. Principals were given a binder full of resources, statistics, handouts, quizzes and news reports on bullying from across the nation. Each school was free to create their own activities during the week to bring awareness to the subject. At Rancho Elementary, students signed door banners with pledges. Gardner Middle School held a door decoration contest. Temecula Middle School and Crowne Hill Elementary distributed purple wristbands. Temecula Middle School also created a No Bullying chain made of student pledges. Crowne Hill also introduced purple Nice Notes. Nicolas Valley Elementary students created Anti-Bully posters and did the Crumpled Paper activity. At Day Middle School, student council members Advertisement [ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] awarded pins for demonstrated acts of kindness; recipients then passed the pins on to others demonstrating acts of kindness. Abby Reinke Elementary students pledged not to bully by putting their handprints on a banner. Nicolas Valley Elementary also had a Spellman Magic Anti-Bullying assembly, Compliment Day, and watched the DVD Bullies Are A Pain in the Brain. Many also had assemblies, education sessions, video announcements, folders with kindness/anti-bullying articles, teachers giving out positive referrals, etc. All schools in the district participated in the Thursday and Friday clothing activity. Also that second year, Jason Osborne, Director of Transportation for TVUSD, took one school bus out of circulation for that week and allowed Great Oak students to paint it with water-soluble paint to get the message out in a big way. Osborne drives the ambassador bus himself to the particular Because Nice Matters events around the district. The bus is a focal point at many of the scheduled activities. Last year, Temecula Valley students painted the bus; this year it’s Chaparral High’s turn. Balka started bringing the messages and her peer leader students to the middle schools and elementary schools feeding Great Oak. They soak up the messages from the high school kids like sponges. They really look up to them, she said. Temecula Valley cheerleaders attended the morning Flag Salute at Vintage Hills Elementary. Last year, the Temecula City Council proclaimed – in perpetuity – the last week of September as Because Nice Matters week in Temecula. This year, that week is September 22-26 and a diverse group of community members – citizens, volunteers, educators, and civic and business leaders, including Mayor Maryanne Edwards – met together for the first time, hoping to spread the message community-wide. We are not asking for anything, said Stapleton, just for individuals, organizations and businesses to spread the message, to do something nice for somebody during that week. Businesses can decorate their offices in purple and black, offer Because Nice Matters specials, wear purple and black, create or participate in a philanthropic event, etc. A Facebook Temecula Because Nice Matters page has been established to share thoughts and activities, pictures of the events, and other news and information on the program. The group is encouraging everyone to like the page and refer it. Peter and Rhonda Giummo of Tri-Lakes Sportswear have offered to print the purple and black T-shirts at cost ($5 per shirt, including organization or corporate logos on the sleeve) as a way to spread awareness of the Because Nice Matters message. Peter can be reached at pgiummo@trilakesca. Valley News is offering to share some of this year’s school, business, and community activities and acts of kindness in a future edition to inspire others in the community. Please send a brief description and one or two high-resolution pictures of your Because Nice Matters news to editor@myvalleynews. Put Because Nice Matters in the subject line. In the words of Edmund Burke, All that is necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for enough good men to do nothing. Nice does matter.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 01:54:06 +0000
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