How friends can reduce cyber-bullying at Howard Public School, Toronto

Students at Howard Public School in Toronto have their own ideas about how to stand up against bullying. They believe that their friends can help them and that people should stand by their friends. We talked about ways that people can support each other and how you sometimes need to talk with a teacher, a parent or another trusted adult. We saw a role-play about how bystanders can help. We talked about a video that encouraged empathy.

Howard Public School Outdoor Mosaic Mural

Principal, Mrs. Rosanna Sardella spoke highly of our ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies and said she would encourage other schools to host the assemblies.
Bruce Langford’s school assemblies are available for students from kindergarten to grade 8. www.standupagainstbullying.com

Remember, friends can stand up for each other. That can help reduce bullying!

How to teach children not to bully… (Peel School Board)

Whitehorn Public School in Mississauga has some answers to this question. ‘Soaring to the Peak’ is an answer you will hear from the children. You see, Whitehorn Mountain is in Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. It is a 2,621 metre high mountain of pure natural beauty.

The students of Whitehorn School know they must strive to meet the challenge of ‘Soaring to the Peak’ by:

Participation
Effort
Achievement
Kindness

Q. What is a person called who sees and hears meanness, but they don’t do anything about it?

A. Scared.

That is the answer we heard yesterday from a student who watched a role-play in our ‘Stand Up For Respect’ assembly and felt empathy for the person being bullied. In the adult world, the correct answer to the question is ‘bystander’. Children need to know that a bystander is not a bad person. A bystander may not know what to do, or the incident may have happened so fast, they didn’t have time to react. It is important to teach children what bystanders can do to reduce bullying behaviours, but let’s not blame children for not stepping in when we also tell them to always look out for their safety.

Whitehorn Public School is a respectful place because people care. People know that teaching respect means modeling respect. Principal, Mrs. Margaret Patterson is a great example of how to nurture respect in a caring environment. Mrs. Patterson and her staff definitely ‘Soar to the Peak’ at Whitehorn Public School!

Student Bystanders Show Assembly Audience How to Stand Up Against Bullying

We spent the day today with the students at Redstone Public School in Greater Toronto (Richmond Hill). We talked about the character trait of the month, which for January is optimism. We talked about bullying, the bystander, and how to deal with real-life bullying situations. The students learned by watching scenarios acted out by grade 7 and 8 students. We watched videos and listened to music. The students clapped and cheered at appropriate times and then later were silent when someone was left out of a game during a role-play. The students had empathy for that one person not picked for the team.

Obviously, the teachers and students care about the right things at Redstone School. They care about treating each other with respect and dignity. The Redstone Creed is called their Touchstone. Read it here. What do you think?

 The Redstone Public School Touchstone
At Redstone Public School, we respect ourselves, others and our environment. We are responsible for what we say and what we do. We speak up for ourselves, and others and and we include everyone in all activities.
We treat all people equally and we help others without being asked. We never give up, no matter how difficult the task. At Redstone, everything is possible.
Optimism Quotes:
Optimism is the tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view.
Oxford English Dictionary

 The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.
Unknown

What seems to us as bitter trials, are often blessings in disguise.
Oscar Wilde

 A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

 Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Helen Keller

Redstone Public School Building

School Respect Assemblies in Waterloo Region by Presenter Bruce Langford

Stand Up For Respect was the theme of the day at Waterloo school, N.A. MacEachern Public School (WRDSB).

Students shared their ideas on how the world can be a more respectful place.  One student said, “If only people would just remember to be nice to each other all the time”. Another spoke about the importance of manners. Yet another reminded the audience to be optimistic, and how optimism can help keep people positive.

Students said they liked the song ‘Confidence ‘ and wanted to know if they could download it on itunes. They said they loved the role-plays acted out by their peers.  

Ms. Maedith Radlein, Principal of MacEachern, told us she was very pleased with the assemblies and liked how each assembly was designed for that age group. She liked the discussion format with the grade 7 & 8 students.  “I will definitely be a reference for your Stand Up Now programs,” she told us.

Cyber-bullying & Cyber-safety Workshops for Elementary Students get high marks

St. Benedict Catholic School, Orangeville (Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board) welcomed Bruce Langford, of Stand Up Now Productions.
Principal, Mr. Gregory Krar was very pleased with the ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies. “These assemblies were exactly what we wanted for our students. Bruce Langford made the topic of cyberbullying interesting and entertaining for our students. The videos and role-plays made the messages easy to understand.” Mr. Krar was just as pleased with the Stand Up Now workshops when they were presented at his last school, St. Andrew Catholic School in Orangeville.

Students got involved in the dialogue, with one student warning others about the potential dangers of web cams. He explained how your computer can be hacked and the hacker can actually see what your web cam is seeing.
One student said she would use the tip about including numbers or symbols in passwords.
We were impressed with the students at St. Benedict. They really took this topic of cyberbullying and cyber-safety seriously. They interacted positively and were respectful audiences.

Principal Endorsed Anti-Bullying Prevention Assemblies in Toronto

Parents, please be aware of what your children are doing on line!
This is one of the cyberbullying tips we shared during our ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’ parent workshop at Julliard School today. More than 57 families attended the parent talk about cyber-bullying by teacher/presenter Bruce Langford. Parents learned strategies to quell cyber-bullying and they were enthusiastic with the role-plays presented by their children.

Here is some feedback following the student assemblies:
“The’Stand Up For Respect’ assemblies were excellent! Bruce Langford presented three different programs all geared to our specific grade levels here at Julliard French Immersion School (Toronto). Bruce has a lovely manner with the students and covered many points about bullying prevention using terminology we use here at Julliard. The assemblies were just the right length for our students. We would like to have Bruce back to present his ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies. Our parent evening was also a big success!
Judith Goldberg, Vice-Principal Julliard Public School, Maple Ontario

Students were totally engaged with the Stand Up For Respect assemblies. They were completely focused on the role-plays and videos. They answered questions respectfully, clapped along with the songs and wondered when they would be able to see another presentation by Benny DL. Benny DL is also known as speaker/presenter, Bruce Langford, of Stand Up Now Productions.
Julliard Public School is a place where students, teachers and staff have high standards and really care about respect. That was an obvious conclusion based on our one day visit to Julliard Public School.

Teacher approved Cyber-bullying Assemblies in Kitchener Ontario

Just returned from presenting 3 Cyber-bullying Got 2 Go assemblies at Sandhills Public School in Kitchener Ontario (Waterloo Region District School Board). The students were totally keen to learn how to stay safe in cyber-space. Benny DL asked questions and students got involved with their answers.

Nancy, a Grade 3 Teacher, made the following remark after the assembly: “Your program was just awesome with a very timely message. I loved how you tied our Sandhills Guidelines into your assembly.”

Allison (not her real name) is a grade 3 student who made a special trip back to the gym to tell us: “That was the best assembly we’ve ever had!”

Here is a tip we shared about staying safe on-line. “If someone is mean on-line, don’t even answer the message.”

Remember, if you are having problems with people on-line, it is important to talk to a parent, a teacher or another adult you trust.

The Sandhills Suns believe in living ‘Above the Line’. Living above the line means taking responsibility for your choices, being accountable and being willing to work toward solutions. Living below the line includes quitting, denying, justifying and laying blame.