MAUMEE, OH (WTOL) - This week, students in Maumee are making sure their peers do not feel left out. It is all part of a national campaign called "Start with Hello Week" to fight social isolation in schools.
"Start with Hello Week" teaches students how to make others feel included. The initiative was formed by the non-profit organization, Sandy Hook Promise, after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The goal is to help students recognize when one of their peers may be dealing with social isolation and work toward inclusiveness.
Students wear name tags so everyone at the school will know each other's name. Monday was called "Hey day," where students would address each other by name in a friendly way.
This is the first year Gateway Middle School has taken part in this initiative.
"Just the whole week is filled with positivity so no one feels alone," eighth grader Eric Board said.
"Our student leaders in the building produced videos that will be shown at the beginning of each school day and it will lay out what our theme is or our focus is for the day," Principal of Gateway Middle School, Angie Wojcik explained.
Students also have the chance to highlight kind behaviors they see in others by writing little notes. Some of those notes said, "She helped me with my homework," "picked up my papers when I d ropped them," and "he was nice to me."
