UPstander Month - Empowering Kindness
During September in guidance classes, assemblies, caregiver sessions, and more, AISG celebrated UPstander Month, a key part of our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum and No Bully System.
The Goal
To empower every child to recognize bullying, refuse it, and report it — a crucial three-step approach students learn to handle bullying situations. In addition, we aim to move from being a passive bystander to an active UPstander who takes brave, kind action to make things right. At AISG, anti-bullying training is in place for the entire community because together, we believe we have the power to make AISG bully-free.
A Class Promise
The cornerstone of this month’s learning was the creation of our UPstander Pledge, a class promise thoughtfully discussed and signed by each student:
Making it Visible
A highlight of UPstander Month was A”wear”ness Day, where our community dressed in green to raise awareness and show solidarity. In addition, the campuses displayed graphics to remind our students all of the ways they can be UPstanders.
Artwork Reminder
Younger students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 collaborated on a unique art project: AISG-colored footprints filling canvasses, symbolizing that every step we take together contributes to a kinder, more inclusive path forward. This artwork will be proudly displayed as a reminder that we walk this journey as a community.
Home Partnership
Our work doesn’t stop in school. Our counselors hosted a Caregiver Coffee to share tools on how to talk about upstanding actions at home, how to praise courageous kindness when they see it, and how students benefit when they have trusted adults in their lives. By reinforcing these principles, together we help our children instill upstander values into every part of their lives.
The AISG Impact is the tangible learning from Upstander Month, equipping students with the skills, courage, and empathy to lead with kindness. By empowering our students to be UPstanders today, we are helping shape compassionate, confident global citizens who will stand up for what’s right wherever their future takes them.