Pink Shirt Day is held annually on the third Wednesday in February to raise awareness about bullying in schools. 

The initiative began 2007 after a Grade 9 student in Cambridge, N.S. was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Two Grade 12 students in Berwick, N.S., got wind of what happened and decided to make a point. They bought 50 pink shirts and handed them out to their classmates to wear the next day. It鈥檚 now turned into an international event with the goal of getting others to stand up to bullying and violence. 

Students at Harry Camsell and Princess Alexandra Schools are both taking on the initiative, but it's more than just wearing a pink shirt on one day, said Tara Boudreau, the principal at both schools, with the month of February set aside for what's known as Random Acts of Kindness.

"Teachers and students share what they've done and we have a tree display to show how everyone is working and making sure we're being respectful and kind to one another," she said.

Teachers also sometimes take their students to Woodland Manor to sing for the residents, she added, and they'll do so wearing their pink shirts.

At K鈥檃tl鈥檕deeche First Nation鈥檚 Chief Sunrise Education Centre, staff take 鈥渁n eclectic, multi-pronged approach that responds to what the students need in context,鈥� according to principal Deborah Reid. 

鈥淔ormally, anti-bullying is part of our overall behaviour conduct model that encourages positive behaviours and works to prevent bullying situations from arising,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淟ike all schools, we have policies and procedures that we follow to ensure safety and inclusivity. 

鈥淲e do typically participate in the Pink Shirt Day activities and we have socio-emotional and self-regulation programs that support students to make good choices, deal with conflict and respond with kindness.鈥� 

While everyone knows bullying is wrong, it's all about understanding why it's wrong and Boudreau said it's important to have youth learn right from wrong.

"If they do something inappropriate, we'll talk to them and ask them how they would feel if someone did something bad to them," she said. "Students sometimes don't see when they've done something wrong and so we just make sure we're watching for the signs. Our teachers have the resources available to them and can tailor activities to each grade."

There's also knowing the difference between bullying and making a bad choice, she added.

"Bullying is a personal thing and so we're always making sure the kids understand that they need to try to be kind to others," she said. "I don't think we have any bullies at either school, but I always say it's better to be a basket-filler than a basket-picker."