No Name Calling week  is nationally designated and provides students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to challenge bullying and name-calling in their communities. This year it begins on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 16 and ends on the day of the Presidential Inauguration on January 20.

Here at WHHS, Donna King, he Student Assistant Coordinator helped organize the week’s activities to bring awareness to bullying issues. As the school’s Anti-Bullying Specialist, she has for the past six years worked to encourage students, staff and faculty to respect one another.  

For the week of no name- calling here at WHHS, many different clubs and activities are involved. Both the Photo Club and the National Arts Honors Society are creating displays of photos and artwork to commemorate the week’s activities.  

Marina Cangialosi’s Child Development III class is making a bulletin board outside of the library where compliments are hanging up for students to take and a student can write a positive note too for the next person. We also have our G.S.A students who will be sharing the morning announcements and our student Ambassadors providing music. “We are trying to pull people from all parts of the school to help raise awareness and spread the word,” King says.

The Week of Respect which took place back in October goes hand and hand with No-Name Calling Week. Some people feel like we shouldn’t just take one week to focus on being kind to each other; this really should be a movement for the entire year. Both of these weeks bring attention but everyone’s goal should be to make it a part of everyone’s everyday living. We should cultivate a an atmosphere of inclusion, acceptance, and helping each other out.

King felt inspired by her own experiences of being bullied.There was girl in high school that sat right behind her in class and would just say things just to get under her skin. It went on all year long. and she kept ignoring it; Fortunately, at the end of year when the class ended, so did the bullying. “All of us have experienced bullying,” she said. “It can be a painful experience to say the least.”