Middle school is a time of learning, a time for fun -- and a time for getting bullied.

People get teased over the stupidest stuff --the way they walk, the way they talk, the way they laugh. Everyone gets teased -- even the popular people.

Two years ago, a group of sixth-graders at Craig Middle School in Lawrence Township decided they were sick of the bullying and teasing and took a petition to their principal to try to stop it.

"We met and we talked about it, and they shared some of their concerns. And they kept coming back and coming back and coming back, and finally we did organize a committee," said principal Bill Gavaghan.

The result was Making School Better Committee, or MSBC. Recently Y-Press interviewed Kristen Short and Claire Simmons, both eighth-graders and members of the committee, and their principal, who serves as adviser to MSBC.

Kristen explained why she decided to be part of MSBC: "This is the thing that really made me want to do this. When I was in fifth grade, I had a lot of friends, but I had these closest friends, they were my absolute closest friends. And then one day all three of them started teasing me without stopping, and it wasn't in a nice or playful way. They were being really mean."

Claire had similar experiences. "I think a lot of times when people get teased, they think they're alone. Like I got teased a lot in fifth grade, and when I saw that this was happening, it kind of reassured me that there are other people that are teased, too," she said.

MSBC started last school year with 14 students.

The program is based on the "Don't Laugh at Me" program created by Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary.

Yarrow's program includes a curriculum that teaches kids about bullying and what to do if they are bullied. Included in the curriculum is the song Don't Laugh at Me and a music video.

Gavaghan first played Don't Laugh at Me to all the classrooms, and the Craig sixth- and seventh-grade choirs sang the song at their spring concert.

Then the MSBC group created a program, which they were invited to present to two fifth-grade classrooms and two sixth-grade classrooms.

So how does this work?

First, they play the song as students come into the classroom. Then they read a short story called The Maligned Wolf , which is based on Little Red Riding Hood but is told from the viewpoint of the wolf. Then they show the music video, first explaining the clips are from the Special Olympics so that the students won't laugh when they see it. Then they do the Power Shuffle.

Claire explained how it works: "We have the students line up in a row, and we mention some things that usually are a part of being bullied, and if they have seen it or it has happened to them, then they step forward."

A couple of people from the committee stand in line and step out so that there never is a single student who steps out of line alone, she said.

After each activity, they ask questions to get the students thinking about what they just learned.

At the end of the program, they pass around a pledge that is optional for the students to sign.

The pledge includes such statements as: "We will not bully others." "We will stand up for others." "We will report any bullying or teasing that we see." They ask the teachers to post the pledges in the room so that it reminds the students that they signed it.

All sixth-graders at Craig have seen the MSBC program, and the principal is proud of the work that the committee has done.

"To me, this is the best group I've worked with, and I think this group has the best chance for making an impact than any other group I've worked with," he said.

"As a principal, it makes me proud that we have a program like this, and that there are students willing to not only identify that we have a problem, but also are willing to do something about it."

The committee has experienced little resistance from students.

"Mostly it's been positive reactions. There are a couple of kids that didn't have that great of a reaction, but most of the time it seems like they learn from it," said Claire.

The committee has seen some improvement in the behavior of sixth-graders this year.

"After word got out, . . . it kind of seemed like the teasing went down slightly, knowing that there was such a thing, not by a lot, but very slightly," said Kristen.

MSBC is planning to expand this year.

Recently they started opening up the committee for others to join. They are also planning a schoolwide activity in which students create a paper chain containing compliments that students have given each other.

"If someone gives you a compliment or something, you write that on the slip of paper, and we'd try to link it all around the school," Kristen explained.

MSBC has gotten support from outside sources as well, one of the most prominent being Dr. Duane Hodgin, assistant superintendent of Lawrence Township and an advocate of character education.

As Gavaghan elaborated, "When we open it up to more students, which we're ready to do, he's going to buy every member of the club a T-shirt. So we hope to get many, many more students next school year."

Gavaghan has very high expectations for the popularity of the committee and its message.

"I just sort of have this vision that I would like to see 300 students and all the administrators and all the teachers wear the same T-shirt on the same day. I think that would make a major impact at Craig Middle School," he said.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Victoria Sahm, 17.

REPORTERS: Chad Flowers, 14; Jennifer Maberto, 13; Olivia Mozzi, 14.