Every day is anti-bullying day at Edith McDermott Elementary.

But on Feb. 29, which is Pink Shirt Day, a special emphasis will be placed on understanding why kids bully other kids, how students can stand up to a bully and for themselves, and how to change behaviour to get rid of bullying in school.

"Pink [Shirt] Day is a celebration of everything we do every day," said Donna Heikkila, principal of Edith McDermott Elementary.

The school is focusing on a theme inspired by the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carol McLeod, that teaches youth to treat people nicely and help people who are down, thereby filling their inner bucket with good feelings.

"We should all be walking around with our buckets full," Heikkila said.

Bullies in the book are referred to as bucket dippers, people who take away those good feelings from other people.

Sometimes identifying bullying can be a grey area, Heikkila said, but it is usually a deliberate act and includes repetitive behaviour.

When she comes across a bully, Heikkila said she looks at him or her as needing her support as well. She will try to make the bully understand how to stop their inappropriate behaviour.

Much of the work that needs to be done is figuring out what the bully is missing in life, building up their confidence, making them understand the role they're playing, and making them take responsibility for their actions.

Of course, the bully must understand there are consequences to his or her behaviour and close monitoring is needed to see if there's s shift in behaviour, Heikkila added.

Change in behaviour is usually "slow and steady," Heikkila said, but over the years, she said she's seen some "dramatic change."

Pink Shirt Day has spread across the country starting in Nova Scotia after a boy wearing a pink T-shirt was teased. To show their support for the boy who was teased, several students showed up in pink T-shirts.

The pink T-shirt has come to symbolize the fight against bullying and has been supported by British Columbia's Premier Christy Clark and other politicians.

Pink Shirt Day is about paying it forward, said Janna Dahlin, aboriginal support worker at Edith McDermott, with a focus on the positive, "how to make people feel good."

Dahlin and child care worker Jen Allen lead the Monday afternoon EME Girls Group, which consists of Grade 7 students.

Again this year, they are helping to get the message out in the school that bullying is not acceptable.

The student group wants to show bullies it's not okay to treat people poorly and to hurt them physically and mentally, according to Grade 7 student Chloe Pusiewich.

Bullying can be stopped by standing up for the person being bullied but also by confronting the bully, Chloe said.

"If you don't stand up to them, they'll keep doing it," she added.

Nicola Vrijmoet, a parent of two children at Edith McDermott, said the school's work in the antibullying area has allowed her to address the issue at home as well, especially this year's theme based on the book by McLeod.

"'Bucket filling' triggers them to have a conversation, a dialogue, with the kids," Vrijmoet said.

The school has been trying to help students develop problem-solving skills, the ability to stand up for themselves, and the confidence to report bad behaviour.

Heikkila said she sees students of different ages playing together on the school playground in an atmosphere of inclusion and support, and that is a "healthy environment."

mrantanen@mritmes.com