Bayfield Middle School is planning an Epic Day for its eighth-grade students on Thursday, Feb. 9. It will be all-day activities under what's called the Heroes Project, Principal Tod Lokey said.
It's intended to address issues BMS staff have seen, such as cutting, thoughts of suicide, conflicts, threatening or disruptive behavior. The event also will work to increase awareness of teasing, disrespect, bullying and to foster empathy.
Lokey said 45 adults will work with the kids in small groups with a goal to build trust and tackle some difficult issues. Students will be asked if they or anyone they know has been bullied.
"Mid-schoolers kind of walk together, but they feel incredibly alone," Lokey told the school board on Jan. 24. "They may trust each other one day and not the next." He said school staff has a list of kids they have concerns about, who need further services to address their issues.
As for the Feb. 9 event, he asked, "How do we identify students who need further services after the presenters leave? The big thing is for them to go through the experience together."
Parents will have to sign a permission slip for their student to participate.
BMS had a school-wide assembly on Safe2Tell this week.
BMS counselor Dave Kelley told the Times at that presentation that the current eighth grade class is the biggest BMS has ever had. He said members of the BHS Friends of Rachel (FOR) Club will be at Epic Day. The club was created several years ago to promote kindness and address bullying issues and how people treat each other. The club was formed after a school assembly about Rachel Scott, one of the students killed in the Columbine school shootings.
