WEAR SOMETHING PINK day - TOMORROW Friday 17 May

Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness. It’s about creating a community where all people feel safe, valued and respected, regardless of age, ability, religion or cultural background. O.I.S. is doing something a little different for Pink Shirt Day. Instead of Pink Shirt Day, we are having a WEAR SOMETHING PINK day: so SUBSTITUTE uniform item/s for something that is pink.

The Student Council decided that we want to support Pink Shirt Day again this year. Instead of a pink shirt day, we are going with a 'WEAR SOMETHING PINK day'. So students must replace/substitute part or parts of their uniform with something pink, ie: a shirt, hat, shorts, skirt, socks, or shoes. It can be one item of clothing or multiple, BUT it must be the majority colour pink!

Pink Shirt Day is about spreading Aroha and kindness and putting an end to bullying.

• “Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora - Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!”

Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against bullying after a peer was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. In Aotearoa, Pink Shirt Day works to create schools, workplaces, communities, and whānau where everyone feels safe, valued, and respected.

Bullying in our schools is a real problem. In fact, New Zealand has one of the highest rates of school bullying out of 36 OECD countries. Studies show that rangitahi who get bullied are far more likely to experience health and mental health issues.

We need your help to turn this around. We deserve to live in a place where we all feel safe and valued, and where we’re not afraid to be ourselves. Together, we can create a school and community that celebrates our differences and practices kindness and acceptance every day.