Challenge yourself to BE the change that you want to see in this school, so that we can unify in our goal to stop the teasing, violence and alienation experienced by so many of our peers nationwide every day. Based on the program “If You Really Knew Me”, “Unity Day” is meant to give you a voice in our school. It is an in-school day of fun, leadership, and acceptance that will hopefully ripple out to the rest of our school and change the way we view one another forever.
Unity Day began at Northmont in 2010 when 2 students came into my office talking about a program called "If you Really Knew me". They wanted to bring MTV to Northmont so we could have a day to promote understanding and acceptance of one another among our student body. After finding the cost to be over $5000, we decided to create our own version of the program and call it Unity Day. In our pilot program over 90 students applied to participate in the all day program held in our small gym during a regular school day. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive with students giving the following feedback on their evaluations when asked if the day was helpful to them:
In 2014 we decided to make Unity Day a freshman program having each incoming student experience the day in an effort to "set the tone" for the compassionate climate we want to encourage at Northmont High School. Coming to Unity Day is part of the freshman experience, but participation is totally up to the individual. There are small groups that meet through out the day, but each individual is encouraged to participate to the degree they feel comfortable.
Students who have difficult challenges in their lives learn that its ok to ask for support when they need it. Students who are blessed with less challenges in their own lives leave with gratitude for what they have and compassion for others. Everyone benefits.
If you still have questions after reading all the information about Unity Day, please feel free to call Mrs. Coffman at 937-832-6065.
Unity Day began at Northmont in 2010 when 2 students came into my office talking about a program called "If you Really Knew me". They wanted to bring MTV to Northmont so we could have a day to promote understanding and acceptance of one another among our student body. After finding the cost to be over $5000, we decided to create our own version of the program and call it Unity Day. In our pilot program over 90 students applied to participate in the all day program held in our small gym during a regular school day. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive with students giving the following feedback on their evaluations when asked if the day was helpful to them:
- “Yes, I liked all the activities in which we participated. It really helped me understand that everyone in the school has a history. It helped me to have a different perspective on other people in the school. Kids were no longer just another body in the way; rather they seemed much more personal.”
- “It opened my eyes to everybody else and their problems. I find myself annoyed a lot when it comes to people at school. I can never understand why people act the way they do. The immaturity levels are so aggravating, but unity day helped me see that everyone is fighting a hard battle. I still get annoyed but at least I know why people may act they way they do.”
- “Yes, because it taught me a lot about my peers and teachers. I feel more involved in the school now and I can see that everyone involved is making a positive effort to do something good for the school.”
- “Yes. It was pretty great and stuff. I believe bullying stems from ignorance. Mainly ignorance of a person's life story. If you realize that people carry around enough baggage already, and that they deal with enough without you constantly harassing and degrading them publicly, your whole perspective on life can change and you can finally realize that nobody is alone in their problems and that we should be building others up rather than breaking them down.”
- "The whole school should go through this program. I only did it to get out of class. I didn't expect to come out of the day a changed person."
In 2014 we decided to make Unity Day a freshman program having each incoming student experience the day in an effort to "set the tone" for the compassionate climate we want to encourage at Northmont High School. Coming to Unity Day is part of the freshman experience, but participation is totally up to the individual. There are small groups that meet through out the day, but each individual is encouraged to participate to the degree they feel comfortable.
Students who have difficult challenges in their lives learn that its ok to ask for support when they need it. Students who are blessed with less challenges in their own lives leave with gratitude for what they have and compassion for others. Everyone benefits.
If you still have questions after reading all the information about Unity Day, please feel free to call Mrs. Coffman at 937-832-6065.