The Peters Township School
District is proud to bring the Rachel’s Challenge program to our students,
staff and community. Rachel’s Challenge
is a non-profit organization that seeks to make schools safer, more connected
places where bullying and violence are replaced with kindness and respect. On Thursday, September 20th,
PTMS students and staff will participate in our Rachel’s Challenge launch
presentation. This program is meant to
inform students about the profound positive impact we can have on those around
us.
As you may be aware, Rachel
Joy Scott was the first person killed at Columbine High School on April 20,
1999. Rachel was known by students and
teachers as a student who was always kind and compassionate towards
everyone. Following her death, students
and staff reached out to her parents and media to share their stories of how
Rachel’s kindness positively impacted their life. From these stories, a national organization
was created to spread acts of kindness and caring in schools. Today, Rachel’s message reaches over 1.5
million people each year through 1,200 presentations given in schools and
communities around the country. Below is
a link to the Rachel’s Challenge website for you to learn more about this
program: http://rachelschallenge.org/
Our goal is that our Rachel’s
Challenge launch motivates students to Start
a Chain Reaction of spreading acts of kindness and compassion. If your son or daughter is interested in
making a positive impact on our school climate, he or she should also consider
joining our FOR Club (Friends of Rachel).
The FOR Club will meet to plan and implement positive acts of kindness
throughout PTHS and our community.
The presentation contains
powerful video/audio footage of Rachel’s life and the Columbine
tragedy. While the video/audio footage might be emotional, it is not
graphic and was previously viewed on the national news. Students will hear
a 9-1-1 call, see surveillance images, or student and parent
reunification.
Please take a moment to
review the Rachel’s Challenge website.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact a counselor or
administrator. If you do NOT want your
child to participate in this program, please complete the attached form and
return to the Main Office no later than Tuesday,
September 18th.
Peters
Township Character Counts is also sponsoring the Rachel’s Challenge community
launch at 6:30 pm on September 25th
when we will welcome Rachel’s
father Darrell Scott to our community. To accommodate the large crowd anticipated that evening,
the event will take place at The Bible Chapel at 300 Gallery Drive in McMurray.
We hope you can attend this
important event for our community.