Melania Trump Talks Inclusion, Bully Prevention During Stop At Orchard Lake Middle School

WEST BLOOMFIELD TWP (WWJ) - First Lady Melania Trump visited a middle school in West Bloomfield Township Monday with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos --as they kicked off the Week of Inclusion,  which is part of National Bullying Prevention Month.

Mrs. Trump encouraged the kids to sit with someone new at lunch:

"I encourage you to find a new friend and eat lunch with the new friend -- you know a friend - ask them what they like, what their problems are - so nobody becomes sad," said the First Lady.

Part of the visit by Trump and Devos to the school was spent in a sixth grade classroom that focuses on social emotional learning and played a word game in a class called Viking Huddle.

The message of inclusion and non-bullying behavior has been a difficult sell for the First Lady with her husband being one of the most visible often using social media as a weapon to disparage others, most stridently against women, as recently as Sunday calling a congresswoman "Wacky."

Principal Morrison Borders says the message is important not the surrounding politics.

"Today they were here about inclusion and bullying and things like that - things that everyone can get behind," said Borders. "I just told them about the school - told them about the programs that we run and kind of outlined in terms of demographics and things and they were great. They were very receptive, they were very kind and they had nothing but good things to say before they left."

Trump and DeVos took selfies with some of the middle-schoolers -- leading 13-year-old Michael Antoon to tell Charlie Langton, "At one school out of like millions in the country and just our school is the one that got chosen and she just came her to see us."

I think it's a good idea," said Antoon. "To make other people know about it - show others that you can meet a friend - that maybe you can know a friend, you can be one."

Orchard Lake Middle School was actually chosen out of 1,500 schools across the nation.