Day of Pink was marked in several schools and businesses across Moose Jaw and area, with many coming to school proudly displaying an anti-bullying message.

This year, King George School’s administration decided to focus on the things that kids are doing well.

“We talk about the behaviours we want to see,” said King George principal Jill Tressel. “We talked about things like contributing around the school, being kind with their peers, and that’s what you saw here today. It was kind of a party and a pat on the back for the students doing a good job.”

The Moose Jaw Police Service was there to make a presentation about anti-bullying.

Then, student effort was made into a couple of videos, one that was student-made about proud moments they’ve had at the school, and another with vice-principal Eric Campbell going around talking to students.

“It was very organic when I asked, ‘when has somebody been nice to you?’, and I really didn’t give them any prep time,” Campbell said. “I find that’s the easiest way to get an honest answer. And they were so very good, that this, this, and this happened. There’s so many kind things happening here that it was easy to get that video footage. I really appreciated it.”

Campbell said he wasn’t surprised that for many of the students, there was a quick recall of how fellow students were kind.

“The thing we wanted most from them is to realize that all of the adults in the building appreciate their hard work,” Campbell said.

Tressel feels it was important for the students to take ownership of a day like this.

“Our big focus this year has been working on belonging at King George,” Tressel said. “The kids have been involved in it from the beginning, creating signs and posters, and we’ve been talking about our school as a safe space for all students. Part of the power point was going back to the talks that we’ve had at the beginning of the year with kids, and going back to that message.”

Now over a decade old, Day of Pink has been around for all of the elementary school students’ academic careers, getting bigger each year.

“They know what it’s about,” Campbell said. “It’s ingrained in them. They know what Pink Shirt Day means, they know what’s been going on and they know they’re getting a presentation. We wanted to revamp it into saying that ‘We understand that you get this now, you know what it means to not be a bully, you know what the definition is. We’re really proud of the work you’re doing because you know what it is.’ And that’s what today was about.”