Rachel Heaton covers education in Beaufort County. She is an Oklahoma native and Missouri transplant. She graduated from the University of Missouri and previously worked at a local news website in suburban St. Louis. | Beaufort County middle school students will attend a play next week that will encourage them to report bullying and stop it from happening, and everyone is welcome to attend a special performance of the play tonight.
Beaufort High School's theater department will present the original play "When You See Something, Say Something" beginning at 6 p.m. today at the school's auditorium. The play has two parts. The first, targeted for children who are ages 4 through 10, tells the story of a young girl named Chris who overcomes being bullied with the help of Mrs. Knowsit. The story features music and familiar stories that will help inform children what do if they are bullied.
The second part, which begins at 7 p.m., is for middle and high school students. It is a series of skits that show what it feels like to be bullied and emphasizes the role of bystanders in ending bullying. The play encourages audience participation.
The cost of the show will be $3 for one and $5 for both.
Sixth-graders across the county are slated to see the second part of the play during school hours next week. Sixth-graders in the northern part of the county will see it Monday morning at Beaufort High. In the southern part of the county, sixth-graders will attend performances Tuesday morning at Bluffton Middle School and Hilton Head Island High School.
The event is co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry, which will provide anti-bullying reading materials to students at the events. According to a district news release, the students will also receive bracelet that remind them to "speak up against bullying" and have the district's toll-free anti-bullying hotline number, 843-322-2435 or 866-611-1102. Students can also email bcsdbullyinghotline@beaufort.k12.sc.us.