The week of September 22 through September 28, CFEVS celebrated Start With Hello Week. Start With Hello Week is a program put together by the organization Sandy Hook Promise. It is a week dedicated to “encouraging and supporting solutions that create healthier homes, schools and communities,” according to the organization.

There were multiple ways for students to participate. On Tuesday, students got to put sticky notes on lockers saying positive things, like you’re awesome, or you matter. On Wednesday, students were encouraged to wear green to school. Green represents the Sandy Hook school colors, and solutions to gun violence. 

On Friday, students got to do a scavenger hunt at lunch, getting the signatures of someone who did something, like went on vacation, or has the

same birth month as you.

In an interview with Mr. Patterson, the middle school guidance counselor he said, “the week is basically focusing on ways to reach out to other people who might be isolated, and it kind of encourages people how to do that, why it’s important, and how everybody can make a difference”

Patterson thinks Start With Hello Week is important because “we all know what it feels like to be isolated, or excluded, or feel like we are alone, we’ve all felt that way sometimes, but if you feel like that every day consistently, you know just how difficult it is to feel like that, so I think it really is important because, when you feel that way it is easy to get trapped feeling depressed, feeling like you don’t belong, feeling excluded.”

Patterson emphasized how important he believes it is that students watch out for one another.

You can visit the website for Start With Hello Week here, and learn about the significance of the color green here.

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