At St. Aloysius School in Springfield, Sam Notz and Ashley Lascody took first place in the Grade 6-8 category for The Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault essay and poster contest. The contest was called “Steps to Respect — Bullying Prevention.”
Two Catholic grade schools in Springfield have partnered with a local organization to prevent bullying in their schools. Christ the King School and St. Aloysius School are working with the Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault in the center's bullying prevention initiative: the "Steps to Respect - Bullying Prevention" pilot program.
Shelley Vaughan, associate director of development and education for the Prairie Center and head of the Bullying Prevention Initiative, has been working with the two Catholic schools and several public schools in the area. Through classroom lessons, training for educators and school staff, and the establishment of anti-bullying policies and consequences, the Prairie Center and schools have been striving to create positive, safe learning environments.
That's why Vaughan wanted to find a way to step up interest in the program. "As part of our effort to engage students, we sponsored the anti-bullying poster and essay contest to get the students to think about ways they can be part of the solution to the problem of bullying in schools," she said. "The response and enthusiasm from the students and teachers was encouraging."
Local Catholic school winners of the contest, which took place in January and February, were honored at assemblies at Christ the King and St. Aloysius on May 9.
At Christ the King, Emily Ducaji won first place in the K-2 category in the poster contest, while Nicholas Sepanski took first place in the K-2 category in the essay contest.
At St. Aloysius, Ashley Lascody took first place in the Grade 6-8 category in the poster contest, and Sam Notz wrote the first-place essay in Grade 6-8 category. District winners received a $50 savings bond from US Bank, a $20 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble Booksellers and a certificate of recognition.
Students at each school took a look at the winning poster and listened to the first-place essay. The winning posters will be reproduced and distributed to partner schools and essays were submitted to local newspapers.
 Each school had runner-up winners as well. Those children were recognized and received a certificate of achievement at their individual school assembly.
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June 29, 2008 Issue - To the Ends of the Earth Missions Insert
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