Last year Principal Jason Kline came up with the Kinder Kennedy movement to promote the end of bullying. It started off with the simple idea of letting students write kind words on clothespins and attaching them to backpacks of their friends or random students in the halls.

The beginning of the 2016-2017 school year started the Kinder Kennedy Bullying and Mental Health advisory group. The group consists of various teachers, Principal Kline, and students such as sophomore, Lindsay Guffey and senior, Natalie Averkamp.

“The main goal of this group is to raise awareness for bullying and mental health problems and to develop a friendly environment in our school where people feel safe,” Natalie Averkamp, sr., said.

Students can join by showing up to the various meetings that will be tweeted out by Principal Kline and from their Twitter account @KinderKennedy.

“I heard about the group from Mr. Kline’s twitter and wanted to join pretty much because it sounded like a useful group for a high school,” Averkamp said.

The group makes posters for around the school and has a blog (kennedyblogsite.wordpress.com). They also had clothespins available in the foyer at the beginning of the school year for students to take and write encouraging words on.

“The clothespins haven’t necessarily been the biggest story for us, but if anything they show that the school wants to make a more positive environment, and how we should say kind things to each other. It’s a step in the right direction,” Averkamp said.

Although some students may not be willing to participate in Kinder Kennedy or take it seriously, others will still strive to show kindness throughout the school.

“I think it is important because people are very unaware of mental health and bullying and the connection between the two. They’re both very important and need to shared so people know about them,” Lindsay Guffey, so., said.

Bullying for our generation is sometimes what is shown on T.V. and in movies. It is mostly cyber-bullying, which means “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.”

“Bullying is at Kennedy, no doubt about it. It’s usually not shoving kids into lockers or stealing lunch money, it’s online more. So it is hard to say how big of a problem it is when a lot of it is private,” Averkamp said.

According to www.dosomething.org over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. This is a number that Kennedy High School is trying to decrease by encouraging a Kinder Kennedy.

“Students can be open minded of others and give them a chance. Be nice to everyone,” Guffey said.