Social responsibility is an important cornerstone of the Compass environment, and last weekend’s Chalk It Up event was a wonderful opportunity to introduce our young citizens to activism in action. In celebration of National Bullying Prevention Month and in partnership with the Washington County Coalition for Children, three Rhode Island towns invited children to come and decorate their streets with chalk. This 3rd annual community arts event was organized in order to help raise awareness of the need for bullying prevention in schools, neighborhoods and communities.
Several Compass families met Ms. Brandee and Mr. Mark to “take a stand,” tagging the Wickford Village sidewalks with thought-provoking anti-bullying messages of love, peace, acceptance and kindness. It was an incredible blend of artistic collaboration and camaraderie peppered by an underlying educational experience. As the students worked on their masterpiece, they were inquisitive about the meaning of the images taking shape around us. Coloring in the bubble letters that spelled out ‘Be an Upstander, Not a Bystander,’ they launched into a conversation about what it meant to be an upstander and why being a bystander was wrong.
Compass is a place where students are taught to be independent thinkers as well as thoughtful and considerate peers. It is incredibly rewarding to see the fruits of this work in action and to have the opportunity to partner with like-minded groups in our community. Many thanks to all who were able to represent our school at one of the three ‘Chalk it Up’ events, and for all who make Compass a place where nothing is more cool than being an upstander.
-Submitted by: Colleen Russell (Compass Parent of an Explorer, Discoverer, and Investigator)