Wednesday, October 26, 2005
BOARDMAN -- St. Charles School will use a rock concert to present a bullying prevention message to its pupils Thursday.
Alabaster, a kid-style rock group, will perform two concerts with the message "What Would Jesus Do?" in St. Charles Church, 7345 Westview Drive.
The first performance, for pupils in kindergarten through third grade, will start at noon, and the second, for fourth- through eighth-graders, will start at 1 p.m. The concerts will run from 45 minutes to one hour.
Alabaster is made up of professional adult performers holding bachelor of education, master of music and master of psychology degrees. The group travels the country presenting programs to schools, churches, youth groups, retreats, drug rehabilitation facilities, emergency shelters and prisons.
The program will focus on zero-tolerance for bullying and teasing with elementary-age recognizable music containing messages about bullies, bystanders, bigots and heroes. Through the music, students will be given specific techniques to deal with bullies, such as "Verbal Judo" and "Don't Walk Alone."
Audience participation and interaction are part of the program. Other topics of focus will include Christian response, nobility and positive peer pressure, relationship building, goal setting and work ethic.
St. Charles School, established in 1952, has 544 Mahoning Valley children in kindergarten through eighth grade.