By Carlotta Mohamed
Students, faculty, and staff at Holy Cross High School each made a pledge to stand up against bullying to end the school’s Spirit Week.
The Nov. 12 anti-bullying event was organized by members of Student Council and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), who wanted to focus on the school’s four pillars: Faith, Wisdom, Service, and Community.
Holy Cross High School — located at 26-20 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Flushing — observed Spirit Week from Nov. 13-16 with a planned activity for each day.
Students and faculty celebrated the last pillar — community — with the anti-bullying campaign.
The school community signed their names on orange ribbons as a pledge to continue to keep the school a bully-free zone.
Each ribbon was then attached to the gate by the main entrance as a symbol of what it truly means to be a member of the Holy Cross community.
“Students and faculty all wore orange to represent the school’s commitment to everyone feeling welcomed without the fear of bullying,” said Robert Botero, director of Admissions at Holy Cross High School. “We’re here to celebrate each other, and not knock each other down.”
The idea to begin an anti-bullying campaign within the school was launched after a visit in October from guest speaker Sharon Galvin, a police consultant who visits schools to educate youth on the topics of internet safety, cyberbullying, and sexting.
Galvin has been working with the school for two years and helps build awareness, according to Holy Cross Principal Edward Burns.
“We wanted to keep the awareness in the population about just really being respectful because that’s such a key component of a Holy Cross Education,” Burns said.
According to Burns, the school will include another anti-bullying event in next year’s Spirit Week celebration, given the support and enthusiasm from students this time around.
“For me as the school administrator, it was an incredible opportunity to see the school community come together with a commitment to something they want to make sure they’re living everyday,” said Burns.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmoha
