Sweethearts and Heroes, an organization that devotes itself to addressing the impact bullying has on schools, neighborhoods, and individuals recently spent the day at Center Woods Upper Elementary and Weare Middle School.
The two speakers from Sweethearts and Heroes, Tom Murphy and Rick Yarosh, presented an assembly for each school, visited classrooms, joined students for lunch and one-on-one conversations, and held a professional growth session for teachers at the end of the day. This visit by the group was underwritten by the generosity of Northeast Delta Dental.
The program for the Upper Elementary School used humor and role-playing to emphasize what bullying is and how to recognize it in all its forms. The Middle School assembly was more serious in tone and focused on empowering bystanders to help them find ways to make a difference.
The core of the Sweethearts and Heroes presentation is their five “Bully Buttons” that combine to form a call to action against bullying. Speaker Rick Yarosh, who is burned over most of his body from an IED injury in Iraq, gave a message about overcoming adversity and turning a negative situation into a positive one. “I am no hero, but with my experience, I can only hope to share what I’ve been through and make people understand that happiness is not far off.”
Eighth-grade student Travis Wiggin from the middle school commented about the program, “The assembly meant a lot to us. It was funny and relatable.” Classmate Rebecca Mussey, also in eighth grade, added, “They made you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and ask yourself if you’d want to be treated that way. Their message helps make the world a better place and keeps kids from losing hope.”
It has been wonderful to see examples from some of our students becoming sweethearts and heroes,” said WMS and CWUES Principal Shawne Hilliard. “Since the assembly, some students have become ‘sweethearts’ by showing kindness and finding ways to support others with positive comments. Others have been ‘heroes’ by standing with those who may have been treated poorly by their peers. This assembly went beyond the serious issue of bullying to empower our students to recognize the ‘sweetheart’ that gives hope and the ‘hero’ who takes action,” concluded Hilliard.