NEWS
Students gather at CHS for "Respect Day"
May 4, 2011 — CHS students in every grade gathered on Tuesday, May 3
for an important anti-bullying assembly led by Dr. Stephen "Bird"
Birchak, a renowned leader in character development and conflict
resolution. A select group of students were also tapped to be part
of a peer leadership group that spent several hours in a workshop
with Dr. Bird to help them develop a cohesive team of students who
will help create a positive school climate and culture.
The peer leadership students were joined by Mayor John T. McDonald III and Superintendent Robert K. Libby. Among the topics that discussed were student-centered initiatives, peer mediation and conflict resolution. The leadership team included four to five students from each grade, including eighth grade, with plans being to have the group continue to work together into the 2011-12 school year.
In his comments to the student leaders, Dr. Bird stressed some attributes found in great leaders in history and in everyday life, noting that optimism and a willingness to exert power "with" people, rather than "over" people are important elements of leadership.
Dr. Bird helped fostering discussion of ways to improve the school setting and reduce incidents of bullying and intimidation among students.
He also offered strategies for students on how to know the difference between a crisis and an inconvenience, and then how to act appropriately. To demonstrate the difference, Dr. Bird introduced his big, green Fist of Rage - a prop that he artfully used to drive home his message that aggression or rage, at any level, is usually just a building block to resentment and cruelty.
To learn more about efforts to combat bullying and peer intimidation at Cohoes High School and other district schools, visit the website's Anti-bullying page.
More photos from Respect Day at CHS, Tuesday, May 3, 2011:
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