Saint Peter High School

Saint Peter Middle School sixth graders had the opportunity on Thursday (Jan. 9) to interact with members of Saint Peter High School’s Project for Teens chapter to discuss the differences between being a ‘bystander’ and an ‘upstander’. 

(ABOVE) Saint Peter High School Project for Teens students put on a skit for SPMS sixth graders in Mr. Malz's class about the importance of being an upstander rather than a bystander in certain social situations.

A bystander is someone who witnesses a situation but does not intervene, while an upstander is someone who takes action to stop something harmful. The purpose of the sessions was to make the younger students aware of potentially harmful social situations as well as to provide them with strategies to deal with real-life situations in their own lives.

A large contingent of SPHS P4T students spent either the morning or afternoon in Mr. Malz’s classroom at SPMS working with the younger students. They staged a variety of situational skits as well as one-on-one and small group conversations with the younger students on the ‘bystander vs. upstander” topic.

Project for Teens (P4T) encourages healthy and responsible decision-making by youth through peer-to-peer education.  P4T covers various topics, such as face-to-face communication, healthy relationships, consent, kindness, and being an upstander. P4T seeks to foster a sense of connection between middle school and high school students and provide students with information and skills to prepare them for responding responsibly should they find themselves faced with an at-risk situation. 

For more information on Project for Teens, please click HERE! Below are some more photo highlights from Thursday's sessions at the middle school.