GRMS students/staff participate in "Start with Hello" Week

Students and staff at Gillette Road Middle School (GRMS) are celebrating Start with Hello Week (Sept. 24-28) by participating in in a series of activities and exercises designed to promote a culture of inclusion and acceptance at their school. Start With Hello Week is organized by Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut.

The premise behind the week is to teach students the skills they need to create a culture of inclusion and connectedness, and encourage them to reach out to and include those who may be dealing with chronic social isolation.

Gillette Road Middle School Principal Chris Leahey is excited about bringing Start With Hello Week to the school. “We’re really geared on improving the building, strengthening our community and supporting each other to make Gillette a great place to be,” he said. “We have a week’s worth of activities planned to get us started toward creating the culture of inclusion, kindness, understanding and acceptance that is needed in all our schools.”   

The following activities are planned:

Monday, September 24 – “Hello, my name is…” All students and staff will wear a name tag so that everyone can be greeted and say hello!

Tuesday, September 25 – “Wall of Positivity” All students and staff will be given a Post-It note to write a positive note on our “Wall of Positivity”

Wednesday, September 26 – “Be A LifeSaver Day” – Students are encouraged to get caught helping others – they will be rewarded with a LifeSaver

Thursday, September 27 – “Smile with someone new” – throughout the day, photos of students smiling with others will be taken and posted on the school’s Facebook page and around the building.

Friday, September 28 – “Pajamarama” (Giving Back to Others in Need) - September is also Childhood Cancer Awareness month. In partnership with Paige’s Butterfly Run, students and staff are encouraged to wear their (appropriate) pajamas to school for $1.00. Money collected will be donated to Paige’s Butterfly Run.

For more information on this program please visit the “Start with Hello” webpage.