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Carlyle Pink Day to be held May 1

Respect Ed. students taking charge of the planning of Pink Day, which will be held on May 1. Kyle Sargeant, Bjorn Rekken, Emily Klatt, Katie Matthewson, and Brooke Zacharias make up the members of Respect Ed.
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Pink Day is being planned for May 1 in Carlyle which aims to bring awareness to the issue of bullying.

Respect Ed. students taking charge of the planning of Pink Day, which will be held on May 1.

Kyle Sargeant, Bjorn Rekken, Emily Klatt, Katie Matthewson, and Brooke Zacharias make up the members of Respect Ed.

These youth were chosen to take on a roll by Bryce Birch, teacher at G.F. Kells, and the guidance councillor.

"These were five kids we felt, in our school, had the characteristics we were looking for. They are good kids and good leaders," Birch stated.

They were given training by the Red Cross in the program of Respect Ed. which aims to promote healthier relationships and safer communities for all.

Over the last month and a half the youth have been planning what to do for their anti-bullying day. Involved with a number of other smaller events and activities throughout the year, they were charged with taking more responsibility for the 3rd annual Pink Day than in the years before.

"Our goal this year was to get them more involved and have Respect Ed. take more of an active role in the school and we wanted them to be more active in this day," Birch said.

This year's theme is focusing on cyber-bullying, which the Respect Ed. youth have actually put together a presentation that they will relay to both the elementary youth and the high school students.

"We're doing a walk this year instead of the Chain for Change that we did last year, it's how we're trying to get the community involved this year," Zacharias explained.

The Respect Ed. youth hope that businesses will encourage employees to wear pink on May 1 and decorate their businesses with pink as a way to support the students of Carlyle on Pink Day.

"The community is invited to participate in the walk and come back to the school for the afternoon activities," Birch explained.

Despite focus on the upcoming Pink Day bullying is a matter that the school is concerned about throughout the year.

"We encourage a safe school every day and Respect Ed. encourage different activities throughout the year," Birch said.