Michigan Third Grader Writes Letter to Bully Who Picked on Friend and Spit on Him
— -- A Michigan third grader chose to use words over violence after standing up for a friend of his who was being bullied.
Nicolas Neesley, 8, was on the playground of Jennings Elementary School in Quincy when his friend was getting pushed around by a fifth grader, his mom Shamayne Neesley told ABC News today. Nicolas got involved and asked the boys "if the fight was necessary" before being “spit at” and “called a name.”
Even after the altercation, Nicolas was determined to be the fifth grader’s friend.
“He came home and told his father and I what happened and asked if he should be friends with the kid,” Shamayne Neesley said. “It was bugging Nic that the kid did not want to be friends with him.”
She told Nicolas to give it some time before trying to befriend the older kid, so he waited until Oct. 5, anti-bullying day at school, when the fifth grader wore black instead of the suggested color blue that supports anti-bullying.
Nicolas decided to write the letter that night to encourage a friendship, his mother said.
The letter, addressed to the school, reads “You don’t have to bully. If you don’t have any friends just make a friend it’s very simple. But you already have a friend, us.”
Nicolas’s heartwarming letter was read over the loud speaker at school by Principal Ron Olmsted, Olmsted confirmed to ABC News, who admitted that the letter touched him and was a great way to show the importance of anti-bullying.
“We do take child centered learning as our main priority,” Olmsted said. “So we took advantage of knowing it was national anti-bullying day to show that kids do care about no bullying.”
