Students show support for anti-bullying campaign

Cedar Springs Middle School students had a “white out” last Friday, May 12, and was one of several schools that participated in a helicopter flyover as part of the be nice. campaign (against bullying). Photo by Joe Corriveau.

By Autumn Fish

Students at Cedar Springs Middle School wore white last Friday to signal solidarity against bullying and participate in a helicopter flyover.

For the past couple of weeks, students at Cedar Springs Middle School have been learning about bullying and working out ways to get rid of it completely. A group of GVSU students and the West Michigan Mental Health Foundation visited CSMS last week as a part of the be nice. campaign, which encourages kindness and civility among all students.

To take the campaign to the next step, the Mental Health Foundation teamed up with Amway and Fox 17 News to fly a helicopter over participating schools. Students from middle schools and high schools across west Michigan were involved in this campaign. At CSMS, students gathered in the field on the west side of the school to form the words “be nice.” The helicopter then flew over the students to take aerial pictures of the words they created. Other schools involved included Grandville Middle School, Grandville High School, Grandview Elementary School, Century Park Learning Center, Forest Hills Central Middle School, West Catholic High School and Timberland Charter Academy in Muskegon Township.

Students also came together by having a school-wide white out in which all students and staff wore white in order to discourage bullying.

Following the flyover, teachers were able to bring their students to an assembly in the large group room of the middle school. Students from Cedar Springs High School directed the assembly. They presented a few skits and talked to students about bullying and other difficulties they may face as they enter high school. The skits exhibited troubles faced in high school such as bullying, drinking, smoking, depression, peer pressure, suicide, and more. CSHS students stressed the importance of keeping an open mind when students are in high school; to realize that they will eventually have to make choices that will change their lives. CSMS students were able to hear first hand about things that really do happen in high school by students that are currently going through those situations. Over 350 students and staff members attended the assembly put on by the high school students.

CSHS students can only hope that their presentation helped students of the middle school prepare for high school, to help them understand what to expect. What middle school teachers have been telling their students all along is true: They really are going to go through these troubles in high school.

To learn more about the be nice. campaign, visit www.themhf.org/index.php/education/be_nice1/

Autumn Fish is a junior at Cedar Springs High School.

By Autumn Fish 

Students at Cedar Springs Middle School received a wake-up call Tuesday, May 8, when a group from the Kent County Mental Health Foundation visited their school to present an assembly for a campaign known as be nice. The goal is to open the eyes of young students in communities across Michigan to help them realize how large of a problem bullying is.

The presentation started out by showing a video created by the State of Michigan Surgeon General. The video, created using only text, pictures, and music, showed many teens across Michigan who had taken their lives because of bullying.

According to Christy Buck, Executive Director of the Mental Health Foundation, suicide is the second highest cause of death among teens and college students in Kent County. Buck said that statistic is higher than both the national and state statistic, where it’s the third leading cause of death. Bullying is often a precipitating factor to suicide.

“Talking about it helps prevent it, and students need to recognize the factors that contribute to it. We wanted to take a proactive approach and operate on the model that everybody needs to be nice, rather than anti-bullying, or saying don’t do this or that,” she explained. “We target the 80 percent that are good kids and give them the tools and ammunition to make it work.”

Together, students had brainstorm sessions during the assembly to think of ways that they can keep making a difference in their school. Students were able to think of different events and activities that they could do at school to help eliminate bullying.

This Friday, May 11, CSMS students will be wearing white in memory of those who have been bullied or to those who may have taken their lives because of bullying. At a designated time, the students will all conglomerate in the field next to the middle school as a helicopter does a flyover and take aerial pictures. The helicopter flyover is also a part of the be nice. campaign and will also be traveling to other schools across west Michigan the same day.

Earlier this year, Cedar Springs High School also had a presentation similar to the be nice. campaign. Speaker Laurie Stewart, from LA Stewart Presentations, in Kalamazoo, came to talk to students about being the difference in their school. This assembly seemed to really open the eyes of many students at CSHS. Following Laurie’s presentation, a climate group was created. This group consists of about 20 students from different cliques in the high school. The idea of this group is to keep students from forgetting about what they learned during the assembly; to keep students from losing their motivation to change the climate of the school.

Students can make the difference as long as they are willing to work for it; one step at a time, students can be the change they want to see.

Autumn Fish is a junior at Cedar Springs High School. Post Editor Judy Reed also contributed to this story.

The bond between a dad and his daughter is pretty special, and over hundreds of  dads and daughters got to experience that Saturday night, February 4, at Cedar Springs Middle School.

The 8th annual Daddy Daughter Dance, put on by Cedar Springs Area Parks and Recreation, keeps getting bigger every year, and this year’s dance was no exception. A little over 300 attended last year’s dance, and this year’s dance had a record 430 dads and daughters. The dance, held the first Saturday in February, is for girls ages 3 through early teens and their dad, grandpa, uncle, or other father figure.

Dads and daughters danced to the music of a daddy-daughter DJ team, and dances included the cha-cha slide, the hokey pokey, the locomotion, Footloose, the chicken dance, and a slow one—Butterfly Kisses.

The girls were also able to purchase and make stuffed animals with special clothing, even a Daddy Daughter Dance t-shirt.

“It was a special night that will create memories for all that attended,” said Amanda Gerhardt, organizer and Director of Parks and Rec.

Madison Scheuneman is the winner of this year’s Geographic Bee at Cedar Springs Middle School.
Each of the 16 Social Studies classes at the school sent their two best geography students to represent their class in the school bee this year.  The contestants were tested on their knowledge of the geographic features of the United States.
The students were given a series of question and were knocked out of the competition when they answered their third question incorrectly– a simple 3-strikes and you’re out method.  It took over 40 questions to get the group of 32 down to the top four.  8th grader Brian Jones did well finishing fourth.  7th grader Brayden Harper (who was also the runner up in the spelling bee) and last year’s winner Evan Kobayashi were knocked out on the same question, finishing in 2nd place.
Madison Scheuneman was down to her last strike but managed to prevail.  The final question that eliminated the boys was:
“Pamlico Sound is located west of Hatteras Island in which state?” The answer is North Carolina.
Madison is an 8th grader in Mr. Glyshaw’s class and is described by her peers as very competitive.  She is the daughter of proud parents Allison and Dennis Scheuneman and the granddaughter of Sara and Bill VanHorn. She will find out in the coming weeks if she is selected to move on to the second round of competition at Western Michigan University.

By Judy Reed

It’s something no parent wants to hear—that their child is texting nude or semi-nude photos of themselves to others, or that their child is receiving them. But it is happening on a larger scale than parents might think, and it is not just high school age kids involved.

According to Sherie Kopenski, security at Cedar Springs Middle School, they have tackled three cases this year. “That doesn’t sound like a lot, but one is too many,” she said.

The Cedar Springs Police Department has also been involved in the cases. “If your teen has access to a cell phone, there’s a chance that they have received or sent naked photos,” said Police Chief Roger Parent.  “Sexting used to be between a young couple, boyfriend-girlfriend, but it has recently become an accepted practice for young teenagers who are not in a relationship.  A recent comment during an investigation that ‘Everyone’s doing it’ was alarming.”

The latest case was a 14 year-old female sending nude photos to a male friend of similar age, who was not her boyfriend. He showed the photos to others, and according to Parent, it spread so much in school that it became a school issue, and the police also got involved.  The case is being forwarded on to the prosecutor’s office.

“Given that these images are often minors, officials are taking a hard line approach and may charge the parties involved in an effort to discourage the practice,“ explained Parent.

He said that what parents need to talk to their teenage children about is that the person sending a nude or partially nude photo, even if of themselves, is in violation of existing laws.  The person who receives the photo is in violation by possessing it and other laws address distribution of the photos to others.

He said the prosecutor is looking at it on a case-by-case basis. “It falls under underage porn. She created it and disseminated it. The boy is in possession of it. If he sends it on without permission, that also falls under bullying,” said Parent. And parents need to know that if one of the teens involved is 17 or older, they will face an adult judge.

Kopenski noted that it could have serious side effects. “It’s a lot bigger than we realize. It’s criminal, but there’s the emotional aspect, too. The female sends it to her boyfriend, and then it gets disseminated. She then becomes traumatized.”

Asst. high school principal April Stevens said they haven’t run into cases of sexting affecting classes. “I’m not naïve enough to think it’s not going on, but we haven’t experienced that,” she said.

Several high school students have confirmed that it does go on at the high school level.  “It’s mostly girls sending photos of themselves to boys they want to date or sleep with. The boys then show them around or forward them,” they said. They added that they don’t think the kids look at it as being criminal.

The teens said that many kids also engage in sexually suggestive talk without photos—usually with a member of the opposite sex. “Like if you called a 900 number,” they explained.

A recent study by the National Campaign to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy showed that one in five teen girls have texted or posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves, and that 39 percent of teens have sent sexually suggestive text messages or emails to other teens.

“Teens are vulnerable and can be very naïve,” said Parent. “Often they do not see all of the ramifications to this problem once involved. Sending a nude photo to a close friend can become a photo for all to see on Facebook or the Internet.  Photos are quickly shared with others and there is no easy way to delete or retract them.”

“It’s disturbing. It’s out there and moving on,” said Parent.

So what is a parent to do?
1.    Talk to your kids about what they are doing in cyberspace.
2.    Know whom your kids are communicating with.
3.    Consider limitations on electronic communication.
4.    Be aware of what your teens are posting publicly.
5.    Set expectations.
Download a complete copy of “5 Tips to help parents talk to their kids about sex and technology” below.

Sexting Parent Tips