Clifton-Fine students honor Bullying Prevention Month with Sweethearts & Heroes

Pictures: Sweethearts & Heroes

Ryan M. Wendt

@Clifton-Fine Daily News

Published October 22, 2025 at 4:00PM EST.

STAR LAKE, NY — October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and as part of an ongoing partnership with the Clifton-Fine Central School District (CSD), Star Lake students revved up for the month with a member of “The World’s #1 Youth Leadership Team.”

Pat Fish, of Sweethearts & Heroes, returned to the Clifton-Fine CSD on Sept. 23-24. Sweethearts & Heroes aims to prevent hopelessness, bullying and suicide by providing dynamic, inspiring content that centers on the human interaction skills necessary for schools and other organizations to change all aspects of their culture — skills such as empathy, compassion and teamwork.

Sweethearts & Heroes’ vast menu of services includes a profound, engaging signature presentation that calls for HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist), Empathy and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build compassion and empathy; the BRAVE Youth Leadership System, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades, thus creating a sustainable, student-directed initiative; and The Kennedy Columbus STEP Program (Student Teacher Empathy Program), which teaches high school students how to present Sweethearts & Heroes’ signature assemblies for students in grades K-2 and 3-5.

Sweethearts & Heroes’ central team of traveling presenters includes Fish, BRAVE Program Director & Circle Specialist. While in the Clifton-Fine CSD on Sept. 23-24, Fish, of New York, continued Circle efforts he started during the 2024-2025 school year. He returns next March.

Fish said, “Circle is an opportunity for amazing stories to be shared and heard. Amazing isn’t good or bad. Some amazing stories I’ve heard are heartbreaking, others are heartwarming, and others are downright hilarious. But every single one of us has an amazing story, because we all have unique experiences. Circle allows everyone a chance to share those stories and, more importantly, practice listening so that we can learn others’ amazing stories. What sets us an apart? We make it fun! Everywhere we go, there’s a thirst for Circle from students of all ages, social groups and backgrounds. They want to connect further with people around them. Circle is a vehicle for that.”

Matthew Southwick, Clifton-Fine CSD Superintendent, said, “As a superintendent in a close-knit school community, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of the Sweethearts & Heroes Circle Program. In a small school like ours, relationships and community matter deeply — and this program taps into that strength. By giving students a safe space to connect, listen, and be heard, the Circle Program and format has helped us foster deeper empathy, improve communication, and create a culture of belonging. We’ve seen students open up in ways they hadn’t before, conflicts being resolved through understanding rather than discipline, and a notable boost in our student body's emotional resilience.

“What makes Sweethearts & Heroes especially impactful in a small school is how it reinforces our shared responsibility for each other’s well-being. It’s about connection and understanding. And in today’s world, that connection is not just important — it’s essential.”

For more than 16 years, Sweethearts & Heroes has presented what Director Tom Murphy, of Vermont, calls “‘the ‘stop, drop and roll’ of bullying” to more than 2.5 million students in school districts from New England to Hawaii and north into Canada. Sweethearts & Heroes also tailors its presentations and professional development workshops for businesses, non-profits and civic groups. Murphy said, “We go where we’re needed. That’s what heroes do.”

Sweethearts & Heroes’ books are Boredom School: For Those Bored in School, a collection of captivating, humorous and thought-provoking poems by Fish; 13 Pillows For Affective Teachers, a novel by Murphy and Brian McKeon, also of Vermont, that covers the themes of HOPE, Empathy and Action in the Sweethearts & Heroes curriculum; and A Bridge Named Amos, by Sweethearts & Heroes’ Expert on HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist), Sgt. Rick Yarosh, a Purple Heart recipient from New York. Yarosh’s book tells the heartwarming story of his late service dog and personal hero, Amos.

In September 2024, during National Suicide Prevention Month, about 140 students from seven Upstate New York schools attended Sweethearts & Heroes’ first three-day — and phone-free — Youth Leadership Summit with Spartan Race at Killington Resort in Vermont.

Sweethearts & Heroes has also created The HOPE Classroom, a digital subscription service designed for various grade levels and different school sizes. This value-packed offering can allow Sweethearts & Heroes to be in every school in the U.S. For more on Sweethearts & Heroes, find them here on social media.