Tom Murphy of Sweethearts and Heroes appeared at Mechanicville Elementary and Middle Schools last week and presented his anti-bullying message on various levels, beginning with students in K-2, then 3-5 and finally with middle school students in 6-8. He also spoke with teachers and bus drivers, giving them insight into their potential roles in alleviating bullying.
Article in the June 9 edition.
Waterford – This past Jan 10 Waterford-Halfmoon Union Free Jr/Sr High School held the second of three assemblies on bullying. The speaker was Officer Jeremy Connors of the Waterford Police Department. “The main objective was to open the eyes of the students as to what goes on in the school and other forms of social media” he said.
Connors stressed that with today’s new media technologies such as smart phones and tablets, bullying has taken on new forms. “I think bullying is not just in the halls of the school anymore, it’s starting to resonate throughout the community via social media and individuals personal lives. With the fact that everyone has smart phones and Internet access, it’s almost instantaneous that the information gets put out onto the Internet or made public and it can ruin a person’s name or image in an instant.”
Entire Article on page 16 of the January 23 issue of the Express.
“Bullying is bad, bullying is wrong. If you don’t like hurting others, then sing our bullying song!”
This is the opening line of a song written by schoolchildren from six schools in a five-county area under the mentorship of Richie Phillips, well-known radio disc jockey with WGNA 107.7, part of the team of “Sean and Richie and Bethany in the Morning”. The students in Vicki Schuette’s fourth grade class at Stillwater Elementary School were among the young composers.
How the song was composed is a fascinating story.
“These kids never even met each other,” Richie says.
Richie, who began his grown-up life as a social studies teacher before he “turned in his blackboard for a keyboard” and became a radio personality, has long been dedicated to working with children in his “Reading, Writing and Rhyming” program which he presents in area schools. He has been a disc jockey with WGNA for 23 years, playing the best in country music. In 2000, he was the co-recipient of the Country Music Association’s award for Best Morning Radio Show in a Mid-size Market, an award which he has also received from the New York State Broadcasters Association. And his “Reading, Writing and Rhyming” program has twice been honored by the NYSBA.
Full article in the Nov. 14th issue of the Express