Members of Pakanasink’s Student Council/No Place For Hate team put their “Kindness in Action” with their 2018 edition of Stop-Walk-Talk.

This is Pakanasink’s anti-bullying program, which was adopted by the school last year.

This year’s presentation was just as thought-provoking as the one that kicked off the program last year.

The theme for this presentation – be an upstander, not a bystander.

What is an upstander? It’s someone who has good character, who stands up and makes a difference when they see something wrong.

Pakanasink fifth graders wrote three scripts and acted out real-life challenges that many students face at one time or another in their school careers. The skits modeled just how to be an upstander in a number of settings – including on the bus!

Like jealousy among friends. “Jealousy Rumors” showed that by talking things out, friends can stop any hard feelings among themselves.

There was also a skit about drama on the bus. A special guest, Robin Sklar, talked to the students about real drama on school buses. Sklar is the district’s assistant director of Transportation. She reinforced the positive choices students can make and how they can Stop-Walk-Talk on the bus.

These scenarios, according to Assistant Principal Colleen Delles, engaged all of the Pakanasink students in a developmentally appropriate manner.

The Student Council/NPFH Team members did a fine job getting the word out and impressing upon their fellow PAK students that character matters.

Members of the Student Council/NPFH Team include Molly Bakleh, Benjamin

Beers, Tiara Bernard, Emily Cassese, Gianna Gavazzi, Riley Gentile, Dylan Iglesias, Alexa Mathew, Emma Perez and Vanessa Rodriguez.