Friday, December 18, 2015
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Sandy Hook Program team members and faculty at the Sandy Hook Program assembly on Nov. 18 stood next to the Sandy Hook Promise sign after the presentation.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Austintown-Fitch High School hosted a Sandy Hook Promise event on Nov. 18 in which some of the Sandy Hook Promise foundation team members put on a presentation to spread awareness to the general public.
The foundation team members visited Austintown Middle School earlier that day to put on the presentation for the students there as well. Superintendent Vince Colaluca mentioned there were around 1,300 students that participated during the assembly.
Paula Fynboh, the national field director of the Sandy Hook Promise, started out the program by explaining what the Sandy Hook Promise was. She saisd that there are four programs inside of the Sandy Hook Promise: Mental Health First Aid, Say Something, Start With Hello and Safety Assessment and Intervention. The focus of the assembly was the Start With Hello program.
Andre Elliott and Alex Smith joined Fynboh in explaining what the Start With Hello program was. Elliott and Smith went through a PowerPoint presentation which outlined three main steps. The first step was to see someone isolated, the second was to reach out and connect and the third was start with hello.
Throughout the presentation, multiple ice breakers were introduced as a way to show how one person can connect with another. One ice breaker demonstrated was the “where have your shoes been?” During the demonstration, one person asked the other what places they have been and what places they would like to go. Some students also asked why they enjoyed those places.
“This is not a program in my eyes, this is a culture, a change,” said Elliott.
Smith and Elliott shared their own experiences with bullying and feeling like they don’t fit in with a certain crowd.
“The Start With Hello program is the key,” said Smith.
Smith went on to say that connecting as a community and helping spread the word will make society one step closer to becoming welcoming and not isolating others.