Parkland elementary school students want to be buddies, not bullies, and they've designed a t-shirt to get their point across. The school is distributing more than 200 pink-t shirts to staff, students and parents in time for Pink Shirt Day, Feb. 23. Grade 1 student Jade Lee designed the shirt using the Be a Buddy not a Bully theme that the school is promoting. Michelle Valente, a parent who helped organize the project, said 75 drawings were submitted and choosing the winner was difficult. But the goal was achieved because now more students and families are talking about what it means to be a buddy instead of a bully. "The whole point of this is to bring awareness to it, not just to kids but to parents," Valente said. Money raised from selling the shirts will go towards the school's new playground, which will cost $50,000 to $70,000 and will be built in phases. Runners-up in the t-shirt design contest were Leif Kelly, in Grade 3, and Yang Lu, who is in Grade 2. dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
