OMS Celebrates Unity Day, Talks About Bullying Prevention
Usually red is one of the most prevalent colors students are sporting at Ozark Middle School. But on Wednesday, Oct. 18 the hallways were filled with a sea of orange. The shades of orange weren't to celebrate fall, although we are happy about that. October is National Bullying Prevention Month and OMS celebrated National Unity Day by wearing orange in support of kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
“I love the heart of our OMS students and staff. But even with all the amazing people we have, kids can feel lost sometimes and struggle to reach out for help when they need it since we are such a large school,” OMS sixth grade Counselor Danielle Monsanto said. “I want all of our students to know that they are not alone and that we are here to help!”
“I want all of our students to know that they are not alone and that we are here to help!”
- Danielle Monsanto
Organized by the school counselors, OMS participates in National Bullying Month each year, working anti-bullying and harassment counseling lessons into their Tiger Focus and hosting a spirit week, all in hopes of raising awareness and helping support the message of bullying prevention.
“Bullying or unkind behavior is something that affects almost everyone at one time or another,” OMS fifth grade Counselor Craig Kondracki said. “We don't want to become complacent in discussing the topic just because it's something everyone knows about. We use Bullying Prevention Month as an opportunity every year at the middle school to educate students on what bullying is and how they can help themselves and others when bullying or unkind behavior occurs.”
OMS counselors — as well as counselors and staff districtwide — strive to help students remember that they are not alone.
“The staff and students at OMS want to help those who feel like they are being bullied,” Monsanto said. “We hope our students feel more empowerment to help combat bullying on their own by learning practical ways in which they can be an upstander instead of a bystander when unkind or bullying behavior happens around them.”
The district also wants parents and the community to know that bullying is taken very seriously at all of our school buildings.
“We want to keep an open line of communication between home and school when any student expresses that they are being treated unkindly or are being bullied,” Kondracki said. “The home and school connection is an important partnership — we need to be in communication when concerns arise!”
Ozark has an anonymous tip line. Tips can be submitted by parents, students and community members. Tip line reports are taken very seriously and every single one is looked into. You can use the tip line directly through our website — www.ozarktigers.org/tip-line — or through the Ozark School District app, which can be downloaded through your app store.
