Corona del Mar High School families are invited to a free screening of the 2011 film “Bully,” which follows five students’ lives and explores the issue of bullying.
The CdMHS Human Relations Council student leadership group was notified that the school was chosen for the screening, according to a PTA email blast.
The HRC group includes 40 high school students “who organize yearly campaigns that serve as a catalyst for positive change and promote unity across CDM’s Middle and High School campus,” said Denise Weiland, the group’s advisor, in an email.
“Last year, HRC was asked to participate in a panel discussion following a screening of ‘Bully,’ hosted by the Newport Beach Film Festival,” she wrote. “HRC students were very touched by this film and thought it was life changing! After the screening, they discussed if every student, teacher, administrator and staff member at CDMHS had the opportunity to watch the film, it might create a more inclusive, empathetic and understanding climate on campus.”
At the beginning of the school year, the HRC group contacted the film’s producer, who suggested they could apply for the free screening. The group found out last week that the project was approved, Weiland said.
The HRC group also is planning other activities throughout the year as followups to the film and its themes, which include the goal of reaching 1 million kids who agree not to bully.
The movie will be screened at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Lido Theater, the email said.
The movie focuses on high schools in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma during the 2009–10 school year.
The CdMHS PTA has changed the time of its November meeting to accommodate the screening, the email said. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Nov. 7 in the school’s library and will include information about the school’s policies and programs regarding bullying.
Lido Theater is located at 3459 Via Lido. If you plan to attend the show, click here to RSVP and print tickets.
A panel discussion featuring Principals Tim Bryan and Guy Olguin, Officer Vlad Anderson, Counselor Julie Bentwood, teacher Tory Hughes and HRC co-presidents Mason Lyle and Katie Steinberg, will immediatly follow the film, and students will be asked to sign a “Stand Up Don’t Stand By Unity Pledge.”
