The new year marks the beginning of promoting kindness and spirit throughout Morris Hills: a school-wide anti-bullying video is being made under the direction of Officer Scott Haigh. The video has been in the process of preplanning since the end of last school year and will hopefully stimulate positivity throughout the student body since the plan is to have a “flash mob” involving the entire school. It will boost school spirit and show that Morris Hills is serious about conquering negativity and bullying.

Since June of 2014, Officer Scott Haigh has been enlisting the help of staff members in an effort to complete the project. Mrs. Lynne Malandrino, the television production teacher and one of those staff members in question, said, her independent study students would be the ones filming and editing the video. These students are seniors Melissa Townsend, Demi-Lee Pretorius, Jesse Swain, Jordan Johnson and Andrew Lishawa. Mr. Swanick will also be assisting in the production, as well as several other students. According to Mrs. Malandrino, they are making every effort to make the video as enjoyable to watch and as positive an experience as possible.

When asked what the inspiration behind this video was, Officer Haigh explained, “There is a big issue with bullying; 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. So, we’re trying to do a positive thing in the school.” The video will relay the message of students being positive role models to one another. The theme of the video is that a good gesture never goes unnoticed and that positive things happen to positive people. Even a simple gesture of holding the door for someone or reporting a problem instead of being a quiet bystander can make a world of difference. The idea is that if the students enforce a more positive atmosphere, it will boost the morale of the school.

The goal is to end the film with footage of the flash mob of the entire student body, which will be filmed from the rooftop and choreographed by Mrs. Moreno. “Students are the central focus of the video,” Mrs. Malandrino said. It will certainly bring the school together and create happiness and optimism just by filming it. The segments of clubs and teams that will be shown throughout the video will showcase teammates helping each other out and students in clubs being friendly and welcoming toward one another. It would be helpful for the making of this video if coaches or players recorded segments of their own team and submit them to Mrs. Malandrino in order to ensure that every team and activity is featured. The objective is to release the video by the end of this school year.

This anti-bullying video will not just be shown once or twice, but it will be shown as an example in years to come. “Two or three years from now when we have a new crew of kids, we can build off the first we made and continue to use it as a tool to show the positive atmosphere out there, “ said Officer Haigh. Ultimately, this video will touch the lives of the current students, teachers, and administration, as well as new people who come to Morris Hills.