Okanagan high school students reminded about kindness from younger counterparts

It was a sea of pink at George Elliot Secondary school in Lake Country on Wednesday, thanks in large part to a group of kindergarten students.

The young students from Peter Greer Elementary paid the secondary school a visit on Pink Shirt Day.

“They did some picture cut-outs. And in those picture cut-outs, we had little discussions with them,” said Russ Bischoff, vice-principal at Peter Greer Elementary, adding they talked about what makes you feel good and how you’d like other people to treat you.

“And they came up with some really cool words for kindergarteners.”

The picture cut-outs were pink shirts with messages of kindness, which the young students hand-delivered to the older ones.

“When we walked into the classes, we had a very good reaction from a lot of the students. Very good reactions,” said high-school student Ila Mould.

Pink Shirt Day was started in 2007 after a boy in Nova Scotia wore pink to school and was bullied.

The day is now marked in many countries across the world.

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“Our kindergarten students don’t know what bullying is. That’s pretty special,” said Bischoff. “You can make a difference in this community. You can take care of our littles so that maybe they won’t know what it is for a longer period of time.”

Bischoff said the visit served as a reminder to older students to always be kind while using the opportunity to teach others the importance of kindness.

“Young people can make an impact and make a difference,” Bischoff said. “And that’s what Pink Shirt Day is now. It’s now nationally recognized and I think that’s pretty powerful.”

Grade 10 student Kiara Domanski echoed that sentiment, adding that young voices spreading kindness is powerful.

“Teaching kids, especially at a young age, to be kind is what’s going to shape our world. And I feel little kids coming into a high school, it just sends way more of a message.”

The kindergarten students all wore pink shirts. They also performed songs.

“Change starts whenever you want change to start,” Domanski said, “and it can start with those little kids and them being kind.”

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