Say Something Anonymous Reporting, which was started by the Sandy Hook Foundation, is being implemented into the Watertown High School and the Swift Middle School environment with the intention that it will help prevent anything like that from happening again.
During a recent SSP, a training session regarding Say Something was presented to all WHS students. This training will help to create a more positive community between students and staff because it will allow students to reach out and inform the Say Something 24/7 Hotline about anything troublesome going on. The best feature of this training is that any report will be anonymous, so it will help relieve some anxiety for some kids who want to report and say something.
Both the middle and high school received this training, and the cost to do it was entirely free due to the non-profit fundraising done by the Sandy Hook Foundation. In the future, at the beginning of each school year, there will be a refresher training course regarding Say Something. This training session does not have to be restricted to in-school use either; it can be used outside of school with the tipline, app, website, and can be accessed 24/7, even in the summer. This will be very helpful to students and staff.
To advertise Say Something, the high school is hanging posters around the school and sending emails out to students, staff, and families. And, if any students want to learn more about Saying Something, they can visit the website. Say Something will be most useful if students utilize it and report anything they see, or else it will not be as impactful or effective.
With this, the Counseling Department is creating a Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) program in the high school. Essentially, it is a club that regards the Say Something Program, and is meant to provide more ways of communication within the building. With this training session, the Counseling Department has hope that everyone is better educated about the subject, but Counselor Ms. Bates, “wishes there was more time to complete the session [in the future] so there can be some sort of reflection and discussion afterwards.” According to Ms. Bates, the most important thing to take away from the training session is to “pay attention to how you treat other people, [and] notice the people around you.” Overall, the Say Something Anonymous Program is something crucial to be integrated into the high school environment, and if utilized, can benefit many students!
