Last Friday, Needham High School staff and students truly expressed themselves, wearing white T-shirts decorated with a variety of quotes, song lyrics and phrases from inspirational to funny for the annual Make a Statement Day.

Organized by Needham Youth Services and the Make a Statement Day Club at Needham High School, the event encouraged teens to speak out in a unique way—by wearing their words. With about 1,000 T-shirts donated by Mark's Moving Company and Lisa's Boutique, students and staff gathered for a big T-shirt decorating party on an early release day, Wednesday, March 28, working while they enjoyed music and pizza donated by local restaurants. Additional shirts were decorated on Thursday, and everyone wore their shirts to school on Friday, March 30.

The event was part of Own Your Peace-Piece Week at the high school, which was organized through the Needham Coalition for Suicide Prevention.

As the program was explained in a recent NHS newsletter: "When you 'Own your Peace', you understand and respect who you are, and you persevere through the challenges and adversity you face. When you 'Own Your Piece,' you recognize the struggles of others in your community and reach out to help them in whatever way you can. In both of these ways, you actively take responsibility for wellness."