In a special ceremony on Nov. 26 at 1 p.m., the students and faculty from Haddonfield Memorial High School will celebrate their school’s designation as No Place for Hate®, having completed another year of anti-bias and anti-bullying programs. Lisa Friedlander from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) will attend the school’s designation ceremony and present them with
their official designation banner.
Haddonfield Memorial High School started the year with a program called Rachel’s Challenge, which introduces students to Rachel Scott, a student killed in the Columbine school shooting tragedy, and her challenge to deliberately reach out to others with kindness. Rachel’s story shows the profound positive impact students can have on those around them by simply paying attention to the little things they do and say every day. Rachel’s story challenges students to: Dream Big and Believe in Yourself; Be Kind to Others; Practice Positive Gossip; Show Appreciation; and Be the Answer.
For their second project, on Earth Day, students used recycled postcards to share messages of kindness and compliments about each other. For their final project, students participated in the National Day of Silence, a day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. They followed up the day with their own Night of Noise, a post-Day of
Silence celebration featuring an open mic night.
This is the third year that Haddonfield Memorial High School will receive its designation banner. The school is part of more than 230 schools, communities and organizations in southeastern PA/NJ/DE currently participating in the No Place for Hate® program, following former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s endorsement in 2006.
The No Place for Hate® program was developed by the Anti-Defamation League to provide a model for challenging bigotry and intolerance in communities, schools and organizations. To learn more about No Place for Hate® visit www.noplaceforhate.org or call (215) 568–2223.
