YORKTON – Dr. Brass School played host to community partners, alongside staff and students, to celebrate the culmination of their Be Kind Rhythm Project the morning of Feb. 26.
The project, which coincides with Pink Shirt Day, revolved around the use of plastic cups as instruments in a rhythm exercise, encouraging students to engage musically.
"We wanted to look at what we could do to help children understand the meaning behind Pink Shirt Day," said Tammy Kostersky, Performing Arts and Dance Educator at Dr. Brass School, in an interview with Â鶹ÊÓƵ.ca.
The song “Be Kind” by Zac Able was the focus for the project and was played every Wednesday after school, allowing students to familiarize themselves with the melody and lyrics.
Starting in Jan. of 2025, the school's Performing Arts Academy (PAA) students took the initiative to teach the rhythm project to all classes.
The endeavour was a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Dr. Brass Performing Arts Academy (PAA) and supported by the Mental Health Capacity Building Program (MHCB). Additionally, MHCB orchestrated a t-shirt design contest, and the winning design adorned pink shirts worn by all attendees. The purchase of the shirts was made possible through generous donations from the SaskTel Be Kind Online Grant and the Elias Giannoulis Memorial Hockey Tournament for Mental Health Grant.
Kostersky noted the idea came about in the summer of 2024 and emphasized the importance of leadership among the performing arts students, aiming to create an opportunity for children to show kindness.
“We felt this was the perfect day to connect to rather than it just being about wearing a pink shirt ... we wanted it to be something that they thought about and made an intentional effort throughout the weeks and the months leading up to it,” said Kostersky.
“We talked about how rhythm is a pattern and being a good human is also a pattern. That's how we connected a rhythm to being kind—that it isn't just saying hi to your closest friends but it's saying hi to everybody around," added Kostersky.
Leading up to the event, videos were recorded of all classes in their classrooms, as well as with community partners like Yorkton Fire Protective Services at the Fire Hall and Yorkton City Council in the Council Chambers. Kostersky noted it was the PAA students who taught the community partners how to perform the rhythm.
The day's event marked the final piece of the video with students, teachers and community partners participating.
“There's nothing kinder than seeing a bunch of children—hearing them and seeing them—be kind to one another just to uplift us as adults. Because we as adults have to remember these things too," said Kostersky.
Kostersky also reflected on the shared learning experience.
“We've had a lot of laughs and a lot of fun along the way ... it's not work and it is fun and it's a little bit challenging but we know what the end result is for and why we're doing it. And it's showing us as teachers that if the children are struggling with the rhythm and we're struggling with the rhythm it kind of puts us right at their level because sometimes the children are showing the teachers how to do it.”
The final edited video will eventually be available for viewing on the Good Spirit School Division's website. (https://www.gssd.ca/)
Pink Shirt Day, celebrated annually, stands as a significant event against bullying in Canada and other parts of the world. Participants wear pink shirts and attend events to raise awareness about bullying, particularly in schools. The inaugural event in 2007 was organized by grade 12 students David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia, in response to the bullying of a ninth-grade student for wearing a pink polo shirt.
