Every year Naugatuck High School’s students and staff put on a production specifically for the sophomores that targets the effects of bullying and includes a student panel, an open mic portion, several musical performances, and videos and presentations based on the several types of bullying.

The objective of the Crossing the Line assembly is to bring awareness to those who are bullied, or have been victims of bullying.

The point of introducing all the roles of bullying which include the bully, the victim, the ally and the bystander is to prove there is more than one side to bullying, and that we as students and citizens can do more than we think to be there for one another when it comes to being bullied.

This year’s 2016 Crossing The Line assembly turned out to be very successful, as there were 11 performances by students, two of which were accompanied by Ms. Fatone. The students involved in the acts are as followed: Kathleen Dowling and Vlada Kerus, Esmeldy Hernandez, Alyssa Maldonado and Emily Kropo, Christina Tran and Emily Kropo, Emily Kropo as a solo act, Emily Burns, Christina Tran with Victoria Burrell and Katie Brodeur as a trio, PJ Shufelt, Samantha Semra and Emily Kropo, Saranda Cermenika, and Kathleen Dowling as a solo act.

Also included in the production is a student panel, which is where students apart of the staff can share their stories to prove that even they have been involved in bullying, as well as to encourage others later in open mic to be open about their encounters. Names are not included in both the student panel and open mic, and any information shared is confidential.

For the open mic portion, any students willing to express their stories may do so, and this year, as always, time had run out before all students willing could speak.

The 2016 Crossing The Line assembly was a hit, and it was all thanks to DECA’s Advisor Mr. Timothy Reilly, hosts Kyla Magalhaes, Kelly Murphy and Floraine Evardo, and the 133 cast members that participated in the program.