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Board of Education discusses cutting Kool 2 Be Kind in 2015

Rachel Morrison ’16 and Jojo Adler ’16 attended tonight’s meeting to support their club. Jojo spoke to the Board of Ed expressing how important the club is to the high school students and the elementary children.
Rachel Morrison ’16 and Jojo Adler ’16 attended tonight’s meeting to support their club. Jojo spoke to the Board of Ed expressing how important the club is to the high school students and the elementary children.

Today members of the Board of Education discussed the fate of popular Staples High School club: Kool 2 Be Kind.

Kool 2 Be Kind, more commonly known as K2BK, is an anti-bullying club started by four Westport woman: Cindy Eigen, Lynne Goldstein, Sarah Green, and Melissa Schoen. Staples students and parents volunteer to visit third grade elementary classes in Westport, acting as mentors as they teach the children the message of kindness.

The club has been running for four years; however, the Board of Education is considering cutting the club from next year’s budget.

The Board of Education specified that the were looking to combine K2BK with the Responsive Classroom program which is similar to K2BK. According to Superintendent Elliott Landon, the Board of Education wants the high school students to continue to work with the elementary students (K-5) through the Responsive Classroom program.

Throughout the course of the meeting, many K2BK students and parents spoke to the board expressing how imperative it is to have a program such as K2BK because it teaches children at a young age how to prevent bullying in order to avoid issues further on in life.

Two young girls from Greens Farms Elementary School also spoke about how much K2BK has impacted their lives.

Kylie Cohen, who is in 6th grade, can remember clearly K2BK coming to her school in third grade. She recalls all the lessons she learned from the high school students who she looked up to as “role models.”

Sebastian Hood ’14 explained to the board that there was no support for children being bullied when he was in third grade. “It missed my generation, but it still has worlds of good to do for the next ones.”

After the members of the club spoke, a few board members responded. Paul Block said that he has four young kids so he appreciates everyone standing up and fighting for what they believe in. He is a big supporter of making a safe school climate.

The board is considering putting the K2BK decision on the agenda for the next meeting so it can be debated between the public and the board members.

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Grace McCarthy, Staff Writer

When Grace McCarthy ’16 moved from New Zealand less than a year ago, she had no idea that she would discover her passion and potential career in America; journalism.

McCarthy said that “living in America has really opened up a lot of doors [for her] to pursue [her] writing.” Back home, McCarthy’s high school didn’t offer a journalism class, so she eagerly signed up for the class at Staples.

In journalism this year, McCarthy likes to write features and reviews. McCarthy explained that because she is from another country, she writes differently and likes to cover topics from back home. For example, she wrote an article about how the earthquake in New Zealand, that happened in February 2011, impacted her. McCarthy puts a personal spin on the story’s angle, making it relatable to her audience.

The New Zealand newspaper “The Press” is delivered to her house every day, which allows her to keep up with everything happening back home.

Even though McCarthy enjoys her life in Westport, she can’t wait to go New Zealand and use her journalism experience.

McCarthy plans to move back to New Zealand with her family at the end of her junior year. Her goal is to go to Massey University of Wellington, New Zealand because they have a great journalism program that will help her pursue her passion.

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