Week of Respect, a week-long event, was hosted through five clubs: SADD, SAFE, BC2M, Buddies and Commons Student Advisory Group. This year’s theme was “Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Respect Starts with Me!”

Hosted from Oct. 5 through Oct. 9 this year, the Week of Respect was first established in New Jersey during 2011 as it became a requirement for all public schools to acknowledge it during the first week of October. The purpose of this week long event is to spread awareness about harassment, intimidation and bullying prevention and to promote inclusion throughout the school.

“The whole week is about respecting our differences and being kind,” Heather Eckhardt, SADD Club advisor, said. “We spend time sharing information and educating the entire school community about the importance of HIB prevention.”

Throughout the week, students and staff were able to participate in the different activities hosted by the clubs such as window decorating and writing hero pledges.

“My favorite part was writing on the windows because I got to share a kind message with everyone,” Bria White, Del Val senior, said. “It’s nice to see the windows decorated and reading all the messages makes me happy.”

This year, the clubs also teamed up with Buddies to create a popsicle stick challenge. During study hall, students were able to decorate their own popsicle stick to add to the popsicle art display and earn points for the Terrier Cup.

“I think that seeing others color or a write an inspirational quote makes even more people want to join and do it too,” Ashley Morgan, Del Val sophomore, said.

In addition to all the activities, club members volunteered to read daily quotes and challenges during the morning announcements. These positive messages aimed to encourage students and staff to participate in the activities throughout the week.

“It’s an important reminder to be kind and show love to others,” Morgan said.

The final activity of the week was the Kindness Rocks event hosted in the Commons during lunch on Friday. Students were able to sign up to attend one of the two sessions and decorate a rock while enjoying snacks with their friends. The clubs that helped host the Week of Respect hope to continue spreading this message throughout the rest of the school year.

“We are going to continue the ‘caught being kind’ slips and the praise referrals all year long so that we can recognize the students that are going above and beyond,” Eckhardt said. “This message that we are sharing is something students can take with them throughout their life and especially while in school.”