School Name: Minnieville Elementary School
Grades Served: K-5
School District: Prince William County, Virginia
Years of Participation: 2018-2019
Note: This interview was conducted with Deborah Ellis an Assistant Principal at Minnieville Elementary School and the current No Place for Hate coordinator.
1. How did you develop the activity idea?
The idea for our STAND UP TO BULLYING MONSTER PROJECT was sparked from an annual event our school has every October- The Monster Mash. The event was already on the school calendar and it has historically been a well-attended event. I felt it would provide a captive audience for our first No Place for Hate event. I am constantly seeking ways for our families to become more engaged in the learning process. STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) projects are great for this since they encourage students to think broadly about real-world problems and in today’s society bullying is one of those problems. I felt that a school-wide family STEAM project would be the perfect way for families to come together and discuss the harmful effects of bullying as well as the positive outcomes of our No Place for Hate initiative. Families could use any materials they wanted to create their monsters and the only requirements were that the monster must STAND UP and display a positive message.
During the Monster Mash we created a room, The Hall of Monsters, where we placed the student made projects. When the family members entered the room, they were able to view the monsters, learn more about the No Place for Hate initiative and sign the No Place for Hate promise. In The Hall of Monsters room we also showed the video of We Are Monsters a musical performed by the Minnieville Drama Club. The message of the musical was the importance of friendship and celebrating the attributes that make each of us different and unique.
2. What leadership roles did students have in this activity?
Our student leaders wrote questions for classroom discussions.
- Which monster did you like the best and why?
- How can you help the STAND UP TO BULLY MONSTERS stop bullying?
- How can you make Minnieville a No Place for Hate school?
Additionally, after the event our student committee members made “voices” for our monsters through the app Chatterpix. This was made into a video that was shared with the student body as an additional follow up to the event and classroom discussions.
3. What were the “take-aways” from the activity? Anything you would do differently?
We were so excited to embrace the No Place for Hate initiative and make our first No Place for Hate activity spectacular that we tried to do too many things in one event. The STAND UP TO BULLYING MONSTERS project and the Hall of Monsters were wonderful. Students enjoyed bringing their parents through the Hall of Monsters and having their families sign the No Place for Hate Promise. It was nice to hear family conversations as they walked through the Hall of Monsters. Due to the excitement of that activity and other activities during the Monster Mash, families were not as focused on the musical that was being shown nor did they want to take the opportunity to participate in active discussions.