14 The Courier sun • JUNE 12, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com Flushing school combats bullying through martial arts BY CHRIS BUMBACA As schools nationwide implement anti-bullying tactics, the Veritas Academy in Flushing is combating bullying in an innovative and unique way. While most schools lecture their students about bullying, the Veritas Academy has started a new way to repel bullying in school: taekwondo. A moving-up ceremony was held the afternoon of June 9 in the school’s auditorium for students who participated in a Korean elective class, in which taekwondo was held three times a week after school as a supplement to the class. Most students graduated from a yellow belt to an orange belt, while a handful ascended from a white belt to a yellow belt. The class emphasized Korean heritage and tradition, and as much as the presentation was part of the antibullying campaign, it was also a celebration of Korean culture. The ceremony included a showcase of an early childhood bullying-prevention performing arts program performed by the Korean Traditional Dance and Music Team. The musicians and dancers taught kids about the signs of bullying through an engaging performance filled with music and emotion. The dance, integrated with taekwondo moves, told a story about a girl being bullied by her peers and how she was able to overcome the obstacle through self-fortitude and the help of others. “If students are educated and feel good about themselves and have self-esteem they won’t feel the need to bully,” founding principal Cheryl Quatrano said. “They’ll know what to do about it and help other students that are being bullied.” Aside from the self-defense aspect of taekwondo, there is a large mental facet of the art. Regina Im, the executive director of “Korea Taekwondo,” the taekwondo school that taught the program at Veritas, stressed the importance of self-change to her students and the crowd. She asked the children questions that correlated with the five main principles of taekwondo: respect, humility, perseverance, self-control and honesty, which are all traits essential in the battle against bullying. “Are we able to change others?” Im asked. “Are we able to change ourselves?” The Veritas Academy in Flushing is using taekwondo to fight bullying. THE COURIER/Photo by Chris Bumbaca Queens residents create a new children’s educational show BY JANAE HUNTER Two St. Albans men have created a new educational children’s show they hope will generate an interest in spelling. Allan Pope and Isaac Brown of St. Albans recently shot promotional episodes for their new show, “Spell a Word,” aimed at elementary and middle school students. The show would feature students ages 8 to 12 competing to earn points and win prizes. “The idea started with my granddaughter,” Pope said. “I asked her, ‘Do you really think you can spell?’ and she said ‘yes’ and she spelled a word for me.” “Spell a Word” has a total of four rounds: a general word round, a category of words, a lightning round and a buzz round. At the end of all four rounds, the player with the most points wins and earns prizes such as scholarships, educational bonds and trips. For the promo episodes, Pope and Brown used students from the Queens area, but they plan to use students from all over the country if the show gets picked up. “We think we have a good idea — this could help and motivate students all over,” Pope said. Brown thinks that the idea could even turn into more than a TV show: “With social media so big, this could even be made in to an app one day, and teachers could integrate it into their classrooms,” he said. The duo expresses that this show could eventually go international because children and language will always exist, and because without communication, it’s difficult for people to progress in the world. Pope said anyone can become a great mathematician or scientist, but not without spelling and communication. The challenge is generating funding and exposure for the show. Pope and Brown estimate that getting the show up and running on their own could cost millions, but with help from sponsors, they hope to get the show on a network soon. Screenshot via “Spell a Word” video Two Queens residents have created an educational show to pique children’s interest in spelling.
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