With this year’s Pink Shirt Day just around the corner, children at Isabella Dicken Elementary School had some tie-dye fun last Thursday.
With a little help from his mom, grade three student Trey Hobb brought in all of the necessary supplies so that all of his classmates would have a pink shirt to wear on February 27.
Pink Shirt Day, aka Anti-Bullying Day, is held during the last Wednesday of February. Originally started as a protest against a bullying incident at a Nova Scotia high school, students across Canada wear pink to take a stand against bullying.
Trey’s mom explained that after getting teased for wearing a home made pink shirt last year, Trey wanted to make sure that all of his classmates participated in Anti-Bullying Day, happening on February 27.
“We made his shirt with pink food colouring because we didn’t have a pink shirt. He came to school on Pink Shirt Day, he took his jacket off, and the first thing that happened was he was bullied,” said Trish Crawshaw, Trey’s mom. “I explained to Trey that luckily he could take that pink shirt off and his bullying worries were over, because he doesn’t have to wear that shirt again. But there are kids who are getting bullied all the time about anything; being too fat, too skinny, wearing the wrong clothes, or having glasses or braces.
“So Trey and I took it upon ourselves to buy everybody the supplies to make a pink shirt.”
With plenty of white shirts, fabric dye, rubber gloves, and elastic bands at the ready, the kids in Trey’s grade three and four split class had a blast creating their very own pink shirts. The t-shirts will be kept in the classroom until the morning of February 27, ensuring that everyone has a pink shirt to wear on Anti-Bullying Day.