At one Bay Ridge school, respect comes in many different colors

March 2, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Students came to school one say in green to symbolize the importance of taking care of the environment. Photos courtesy Stefanie Fatino

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Students at P.S.127 recently spent a week wearing a rainbow of colors to school – a special color for each day – to symbolize their sense of brotherhood.

As part of P.S. 127’s celebration of the citywide “Respect For All Week” program in mid-February, youngsters at the school at 7805 Seventh Ave. in Bay Ridge wore T-shirts with a special color each day, Guidance Counselor Stefanie Fatino told the Brooklyn Eagle.

“Each day of the week was represented by a different color. We asked our staff and students to wear the colors on specific days to help spread respect,” she wrote in an email to the Eagle.

On Monday of that week, orange was the color of the day. It signified good citizenship and community awareness. The kids and teachers wore red on Tuesday as a sign of love and respect for family and friends. On Wednesday, everyone wore green as a sign of their respect for the environment. Yellow was the golden rule in terms of the dress code on Thursday. The entire school wore yellow to symbolize the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Finally on Friday, the color of the day was blue. Students wore blue to show that they are true blue friends.

Respect For All Week is celebrated in all New York City public schools in February. The city’s Department of Education (DOE) launched the Respect For All program in 2007 to encourage teachers and students to actively promote a community of inclusion, according to www.schools.nyc.gov, the DOE website.

The seeds of the Respect For All program were planted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, when the DOE started a citywide effort to promote respect for diversity and to combat bullying.

The goal is to ensure that every school provides a learning environment where children feel safe, valued and respected.

At P.S.127, a great deal of thought and preparation went into the week, according to Fatino, who said students took a leadership role in planning the events.

“The P.S. 127 Student Council members met to discuss ways to celebrate Respect For All Week and ways to make it more meaningful. Resources were provided to classrooms, posters were created by students, and Student Council members made daily morning announcements throughout the week,” she said. “We also sold school bracelets that coordinate with the daily colors for $1 each to raise money for our P.S. 127 Student Council.”

The events also included a visit by members of the Tiger Schulmann Mixed Martial Arts Academy, who offered an anti-bullying presentation to students in the third, fourth and fifth grade.

On Jan. 28, as part of the preparation for Respect For All Week, P.S. 127 hosted “Words Have Power Day,” in which youngsters were encouraged to use words and phrases to build each other up.