John was just like any other third grade boy.  He loved playing kickball and being chased by screaming girls with his friends at recess. One day at school, John overheard friends talking about a website called MCStudentConnect. John wanted to join the rest of his friends at school online, but knew it was only appropriate if he asked his parents first.

With his parents’ blessings, John decided to create an account to see what it was all about. So, John sat down at the computer and got busy setting it up.  

When John entered the site, there were all sorts of cool features. But first, John had to be sure to pick a great profile picture, upload some snazzy photos, and most importantly, connect with some friends from school! After updating his profile, John decided to start chatting with friends from school.

John went searching for his friend, Cody. He found his profile, but he was suddenly shocked when he started reading his posts and comments. Cody had posted that he was excited because he had just purchased new shoes. But as John scrolled down to read the comments he was saddened by what he saw. Kevin was not being kind to Cody, nor considerate of his feelings. John decides to reply to Cody’s comment, just to reassure him that there are people who care. But instead, Kevin insulted both Cody and John this time.

John knew that the way Kevin was treating Cody was not okay and that there had to be more instances like this on MCStudentConnect.  John thought to himself, “What can I do to help make the internet safe and friendly for all students?”.

In order to help friends like Cody, who have suffered from rude or disrespectful comments, John decided he would like to share about the importance of being kind. He knew the best way to start was to share with those he sees every day - his classmates. So, he went to his teacher to ask for permission to share about cyber bullying and it's effects.

“Do you see these bracelets, Ms. Heckle?”, said John. “I want to make them and give them to people to help them always remember to not bully and if bullied, that there is always someone to talk to who cares.”

Once John got permission to talk to his class from his teacher he decided he wanted to talk to Kevin and Cody before everyone else. He thought it was important to let them know what he was going to be discussing with the class. John found Kevin first. He told Kevin how he thought the messages he sent Cody and him were very rude and hurt his feelings. John also told him he thought Cody’s feelings were probably more hurt. John gave Kevin one of his bracelets and told him to be kind to others.