As Red Bank Regional High School (RBR) celebrated the state-mandated Week of Respect with poetry, songs, and outreach to get the message across, school officials reminded all that while the issue is emphasized in one week annually, it is stressed in the academic environment all year long.
“Although the state requires that all schools set aside a week in October to celebrate respect, it is important to remember that our school community practices these values all year long,” RBR Principal Risa Clay said in a release.
Each morning at the high school started with everyone hearing respect-promoting quotes read by students over the public address system, according to a release from the school. And RBR's video production group ran respect- and acceptance-themed clips created by students.
Creative writing majors from the school's Academy of Visual and Performing Arts traveled to various classes performing famous speeches that fit the motif, such as Theodore Roosevelt’s Citizen Republic.
“We do not promote tolerance of everyone but rather acceptance of everyone," teacher Gretna Wilkinson said in the release.
A survey conducted by members of the Teen Outreach Program (TOP) found that 93 percent of the student body is accepting of the LGBT students in the high school community.
And throughout the Week of Respect, student-to-student peer leaders counseled freshmen in the hallways, offering advice on how to prevent and/or deter bullying.
“We are trying to increase bystander awareness, and encourage students to report any incidents rather than viewing any involvement as tattling,” RBR Anti-Bullying Specialist Cheryl Washington said in the release.
Read more on the RBR blog.
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