PHSC holds a pep rally in support of Start with Hello, they also received $1,000 from Sandy Hook Promise for launching the initiative.
How many times, on average, do you say “hello” when you pass by someone?
If it’s a low number, Pickerington High School Central officials say it’s worthwhile to increase it.
In 2012, 20 children and six adults were killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. The parents of the victims, wanting to do more to spread awareness, created the Start with Hello campaign, an effort to reduce social isolation and remind students that they are important to each other and their teachers.
Pickerington Local Schools took up the cause after Zach Howard, director of accountability and assessment, became familiar with Sandy Hook Promise. The organization encourages parents to spread awareness so that they never have to deal with a loss of a child due to such extreme circumstances.
Central Principal Stacy Tennenbaum was quick to take the initiative and bring the campaign to the district.
“We wanted to reduce social isolation and increase the sense of belonging in the schools and in the community,” Tennenbaum says. “We continuously work to improve the safety and security in our schools and in our community. This is just another avenue to increasing that safety.”
Combined with Tennenbaum’s continuous goal of implementing a positive and welcoming climate for students, the effort quickly took off. The campaign returns Feb. 5-9 this year.
“I feel that it brings to light the concept of making other feel welcome,” says Tennenbaum.
The campaign entails a series of events that allow students to feel more connected with one another and encourage people to reach out to friends and loved ones. Students are challenged to sit with someone new at lunch and invite fellow students to fun activities in the community. Taking a cue from the campaign, the district encourages students to learn the power of just saying “hello” to someone in the hallway.
“I feel that it brings to light the concept of making other feel welcome,” says Tennenbaum. “Simple gestures like saying hello can mean so much to another person. Our students have become more aware of the need to make others feel included.”
Cathy Ely, district social worker, is also looking forward to the campaign’s return.
“Last year, Start with Hello was a grassroots effort,” Ely says. “This year, I’m excited that people in our community are already talking about the message and programming. They are expecting to ‘Start with Hello’ and want to be part of reaching out to others.”
Ely says the campaign would not have been as successful last year had it not been for the local businesses and help from the community.
“Many of our community businesses embraced the campaign and posted ‘Start with Hello’ on their marquees and promoted the campaign through short video clips,” she says. “Not only did we say ‘hello,’ but our community expanded the message to, ‘You matter, you belong, you’re worth it, you’re important.’ The videos were shown across the district and posted on the district website for everyone to see.”
Tennenbaum aims to continue the program as an annual event.
“We have the community ready to go,” she says. “I am excited to see what new things we can bring to the community and the school as well as how the students react now that they know about it. Last year, Central won a national award, so I am hoping we will continue to build on our efforts to make it bigger and better.”
Tessa Flattum is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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