MHS Students Strive to Keep Important Anti-Bullying Message Alive

Last December was  a tough month for Manchester High School, when a in the school's hallway resulting in almost 20 arrests and a lockdown brought a lot of negative attention to the school.

Parents, administration, students, and the community at large were demanding answers: what can be done to change the culture at Manchester High School?

In mid-February, the school began to put some ideas into action, starting by staging a .

Rachel Scott, a 17-year-old junior at Columbine High School in 1999, was the first to lose her life in the infamous school shooting. Remembered as a young woman who firmly believed that simple acts of kindness and compassion can ignite a chain reaction of more of the same, her family developed an anti-bullying program to be used in schools, workplaces, and community settings.

The Rachel's Challenge event at Manchester High School began with an assembly for students, teachers, and parents and ended with a number of students being hand selected to be trained to become leaders of kindness. As a result of the assembly, the school launched a new club, Friends of Rachel, that focuses on creating a positive and caring school environment.

Claudia Adomah was selected to be the Ambassador for Friends of Rachel, where she oversees the work of the other leaders in the group.

"We got involved with Friends of Rachel when we heard people come up and share their stories about being bullied. It touched all of us and made us want to be a part of stopping it," said Adomah.

Since the group's inception, Adomah said they have organized a Rachel's Walk in April and will be holding a big pep rally on June 10 during the last block of the school day. "We're going to present our construction paper good deeds chain to the school, have music and play some games,"  she added.

Freshmen Michelle Hegenauer, who is also a Friends of Rachel leader, said a challenge for the group has been to maintain an awareness at the school of the importance of kindness in every day actions. She said the group started with about 130 students, but has since dwindled to about 20 to 30 core members.

"Some people think the club died out. We want to tell them we're still here and to come join us," said Hegenauer.

Both girls were chosen for leadership positions in Friends of Rachel, in part because they also participate in Bully Busters, an elementary through high school program that shares some common goals.

"[Bully Busters] is comprised of a diverse group of eleven students who go to Manchester's elementary and middle schools to present an informational and educational program that includes a few short skits," said Laurie Pels-Roulier, a guidance counselor at the school who co-advises the group. "Our students have presented to community agencies, parents, and the Board of Eduation. They are passionate about preventing bullying and providing Manchester students with a caring and comfortable learning environment," she said.

"In Bully Busters we do presentations about bullying," said Hegenauer. "For K through 2 students, we read a book about bullying and act out what is happening while someone else is narrating. Then we ask the kids what the characters were doing right and what they were doing wrong," she said. "We teach them about the different types of bullying and that it is not necessarily snitching to go and tell an adult."

Adomah said in some of the higher grades, they ask the students to break up into groups and present their own bullying situations.

"Sometimes it helps the teachers as well, because while they might have an idea about some  of the bullying situations in their classrooms, they don't always," said Adomah. "Friends of Rachel and Bully Busters are already linked, but I think they will become more integrated in the future," she said.

"We need to keep driving the message home," added Hegenauer. "Friends of Rachel is definitely going on to next year with our same leaders coming back. And we want to recruit incoming ninth graders," she said.

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