Students celebrate Pink Shirt Day

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C – Fort St. John students donned their kindest shades of pink on Wednesday to support the anti-bullying message of Pink Shirt Day.

At Anne Roberts Young Elementary, every child in the school was given a pink shirt with a brand new logo chosen from designs created by the students.

The shirt has “WE ROCK!” emblazoned on the top, while an acronym underneath spells out the schools’ core values: Welcoming, Empathetic, Respectful, Open-minded, Cooperative, and Kind.

Livingstone says she enjoys helping others, and Principal Broyden Bennett said her design was selected from more than 100 student applications.

“We thought that was a terrific design and so we were able to get a logo done up for her. She has impacted and has been an inspiration for all our students here,” said Bennett. “It’s an opportunity to stress the positive language and what we want Anne Roberts Young students to be.”

Fun activities were planned for the students throughout the day, including arts and crafts.

More ‘WE ROCK!’ shirt days are planned throughout the school year, giving students a chance to show their commitment to helping others, said Bennett.

He added the school was happy to take part in Orange Shirt Day last year, and sees huge value in student participation.

“We had really good participation in Orange Shirt Day, and trying to create that idea that every child matters,” said Bennett, adding that constructive conversation and awareness was sparked around First Nations and the history of residential schools.

Written by Tom Summers, Local Journalism Initiative.