Ridgewood’s I.S. 77 hosted its fourth annual No One Eats Alone Day on Monday, Feb. 10, by bringing together students from neighboring elementary schools for a bagel breakfast.
No One Eats Alone Day is a national movement that works to prevent bullying before it even starts by encouraging students to lead and change the culture of middle school.
That’s why I.S. 77 invited fifth-graders from P.S. 68 and P.S. 239, known as the Police Officer Ramon Suarez School, so their peer mediators could interact with the fifth-grade students who are graduating this year and beginning middle school in the fall.
The event was organized by Yvonne Bosone, I.S. 77’s sixth-grade dean, and Mariana Miranda, I.S. 77’s substance abuse prevention and intervention specialist, to show fifth-graders in the community — some of whom will attend I.S. 77 — that “middle school is something they should look forward to and nothing to be afraid of.”
“One student mentioned that because of this event she feels much more at ease and less anxious about starting middle school in September,” said Jennifer Chacon, parent coordinator at I.S. 77.
No One Eats Alone Day was created by Beyond Differences, a national organization with a mission to “inspire students at all middle schools to end social isolation and create a culture of belonging for everyone.”
The official No One Eats Alone Day is set for Friday, Feb. 14, 2020.
