聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥淩espect 鈥� Responsibility 鈥� Belonging鈥� was this year鈥檚 Pink Day theme in Carlyle where schools focused on understanding and working together.
G.F. Kells Pink Day
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At Gordon F. Kells, students kicked the day off with a pancake breakfast. Inviting mothers to the morning as well, carnations were handed out, as the breakfast was both a tribute to Mother鈥檚 Day and a way to kick off Pink Day. The breakfast was sponsored and cooked by employees of the RBC bank.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The morning involved youth in grades 10 to 12, while the afternoon activity included students in grade seven to nine. The presentation was the same for both groups and was done by Shelley Slykhuis who was assisted by others familiar with the True Colours personality test.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭his is a passion of mine and I鈥檝e been doing it for 15 years,鈥� Slykhuis explained. 鈥淓ach of us is unique and we all have people we seem to struggle with and others that we just connect with. David and I have six kids, so for us, eight in the household, colours made a difference.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Students looked at four different cards each one representing a different colour or personality. They then chose which one was most like them to least like them. This continued with deciding which group of three words best described them and least described who they are as people.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following this, students discovered if they identified as Blue, Gold, Green, or Orange. Blue is associated with heart and feelings, Gold are task oriented, Green are predominantly thinkers and are often in their own heads, and Orange are the risk takers.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following the personality test there was a very large section of orange, which Slykhuis explained is because their colours are still forming as youth. As she looked at each circle she pointed out little quirks, which tend to show when placing like colours together. The Gold group had arranged themselves in a crescent moon semi-circle around the paper easel in a very organized manner, the green group was a perfect circle with a little extra room between those seated there, the blue group had sat rather close together in a nice circle, while the orange group was in disarray.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Groups then brainstormed strengths of their colours and then the dark side of their colours, or the perceived weaknesses of them.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Following this groups then explained what they would do with $10,000. The orange were off travelling, buying cars, going to concerts, etc鈥�; the blue were focused on sharing their wealth with friends and family whether donating it or going on a vacation with everyone they hold dear to them; the gold were ready to start a business and invest the majority of their money; while the green decided that why have $10,000 now when you could have one million later and chose to save it all.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As a way to help each other understand their colours and everyone else鈥檚 colours, each group was then asked to sell a car to another group, to try and think like the other group would.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With it being Pink Day the students questioned how the personality test applied to anti-bullying. A good question, with a great answer: Awareness. The ability to understand each other and recognize how people react to different situations is essential for creating a cohesive environment. The presentation involved discussing what made them similar and different to each other.
CES Pink Day
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Carlyle Elementary School had a full day of activities planned, which focused on the theme of Respect 鈥� Responsibility 鈥� Belonging. The day kicked off with an assembly where the music video, 鈥淧laying for Change 鈥� Stand by Me鈥� was played, which is a version on Youtube adapted from Ben E. Kings 1961 chart topping song 鈥淪tand by Me.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Youth welcomed Armand McArthur who presented cultural teachings and the importance of everyone working together for the common good. This was followed by a story read by Principal Tyler Fehrenbach, 鈥淭he Big Tree and the Little Tree,鈥� by Mary Tappage. Students then worked on decorating a table cloth together before heading off for classroom time.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lunch was provided for the youth, before they began their afternoon activities of a relay station, scavenger hunt, music station, structure building, and Pictionary/charades. Students worked together, encouraged each other, cheered, and enjoyed an afternoon as a school.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Youth were also asked to think on the theme of the day and to always remember to respectful, responsible, and help others feel like they belong.
