In a ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 14, the students and staff at the Temple Emanuel, Cherry Hill Pre-School and Religious School celebrated their second designation as No Place for Hate, having completed a year of anti-bias and anti-bullying programs.
To earn this distinction, the school formed a No Place for Hate committee, adopted a resolution pledging to create a more inclusive community, and implemented a number of projects promoting respect for differences.
Temple Emanuel began the 2013–2014 school year with the reading of the story “Bad Apple — A Tale of Friendship” followed by a project to determine what they think makes a good friend and what makes a bad friend.
For their second project, they introduced the character Sameach the Bucket to help them participate in an anti-bullying program called the “Bucketfiller Program.” In this program, when our invisible “buckets” are full, we feel happy and when our buckets are empty, we feel sad. Children quickly understand that they can fill buckets when they do and say things that are kind, considerate, caring, and respectful. They also learn that when they are mean, inconsiderate, uncaring, or disrespectful, they dip into buckets and remove those good feelings.
For their last project, Teaching Tolerance Through Art — From the Holocaust to Herut, students and adult members of the congregation created art projects on the theme of tolerance. All of the art projects were displayed in a special art show culminating in a guest speaker who discussed the value of art and the role it can play in increasing tolerance for all.
This is the second year that Temple Emanuel’s Pre-School and Religious School will receive its designation banner. The Temple Emanuel Pre-School and Religious School is the first synagogue school to receive the No Place for Hate designation in the region and is part of more than 220 schools, communities and community organizations in the region currently participating in the No Place for Hate program.
