No bullies here at BTW

Published 9:55 pm Thursday, April 28, 2016

Kindergartener Savannah Wethington,  principal David Reitz and Links member Patricia Richards-Spruill show off the anti-bullying T-shirts.

Kindergartener Savannah Wethington, principal David Reitz and Links member Patricia Richards-Spruill show off the anti-bullying T-shirts.

Booker T. Elementary School students are the poster children of their own anti-bullying campaign.

Fifty posters — all featuring images of students, along with anti-bullying messages — have been posted on walls throughout the school for the last two months. The posters are a key part of the campaign, sponsored by Suffolk Chapter of The Links Inc. and partially funded with a $1,250 grant from the Obici Healthcare Foundation.

The Links rolled out the anti-bullying program with a motivational speaker and posters in February, according to Patricia Richards-Spruill, chairman of the chapter’s national trends and services committee.

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At the time, students were asked to not bully and report any instances to teachers, Spruill said. On Wednesday, the club delivered 75 T-shirts to be given to the top students who accomplished this.

Teachers will nominate the winners of the T-shirts, said principal Dr. David Reitz.

“We hope the initiative helps raise awareness of the negative impact of bullying,” said Dr. MeChelle Blunt, president of the organization. “We hope the T-shirts will foster school pride and empower students to be great citizens.”

Having the posters throughout the school helped serve as a constant reminder for students to be kind to one another, Reitz said.

Seeing their classmates on the posters helped drive the program home for students, he added.

“It had a huge impact, because it’s not some random kid on the poster,” Reitz said. “It’s someone they see in hallways every day.”

Booker T. Washington is the adopted school of the Suffolk Links chapter. Members visit the school frequently for reading and mentoring programs, workshops on science, technology, engineering and math subjects. Earlier this year, the club organized a visit by the Colgate dental van.