Action Steps to Stop Being Bullied

1. List all the places where you have ever been bullied
2. Describe how you dealt with the bullying each time
3. Write down different ways you could have dealt with each incident
4. List places where you have never been bullied
5. Name the activities that give you the happiest feeling
   

Vow to stand up against bullying by making the decision to speak to someone you trust following any upsetting bullying experience.

Read over your answers to the above and be determined to work toward a better life by letting others help you.

York Region Bullying Prevention Assemblies and Parent Presentations

Ontario’s Bullying Awareness and Prevention week will be recognized at Julliard Public Schooland Elder’s Mills Public School in York Region District School Board with guests from Stand Up Now Productions. Bruce Langford will be presenting Stand Up Against Bullying at Julliard and Stand Up For Respect at Elder’s Mills. He will also be guest speaker at a parent workshop at Elder’s Mills called ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’.

The focus will be on using common scenarios to teach what to do in specific bullying situations, whether you are a bystander, target, teacher or parent.

Stand Up Now Productions visited Julliard last year to present ‘Stand Up For Respect’ for students and a parent bullying information presentation. They have been invited back this year for a follow-up presentation.

Poplar Bank School in York Region Visited by Stand Up Now Productions

Here are some comments from York Region Schools:

“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)JulliardPublic School, Maple

“The role-plays really drove home the points about misrepresentation on the internet and I loved your songs as well. We were very pleased with the Stand Up Now assemblies at Coledale!”

Donna McGann (Principal) Coledale PS, Markham

“Bruce Langford tapped into the multiple intelligences with his dynamic, clear, engaging way of reaching the audience. This was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen at all the schools I’ve been at!”

Karen Monteith (Teacher) Coledale PS, Markham

“Bruce Langford’s parent/children ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’ presentation is a wonderful program. I think that the entire audience will benefit from watching the show. It was very entertaining; it grabbed their attention and was filled with valuable information for all of us!”

David L. Tenn (Parent Council) William Berczy PS, Unionville

“That was fantastic! I was very impressed. You totally engaged the students! I loved your format with the gr 7 & 8’s. I would encourage any school to host Stand Up Now Productions bullying prevention programs.”

Mary Salvarinas (Principal)CoppardGlenPublic School,Markham

 “I would recommend this performance to any other interested schools. Bruce Langford was fantastic and he delivered dynamic, energetic content which stimulated the interest of our students – even our intermediates!”

Ghada Sadaka (Vice Principal)BrownridgePublic School, Thornhill

Stand Up Now Productions has visited many York Region District School Board Schools including:

Sharon PS, Grey Owl PS, Nobleton PS, Sir Wilfrid Laurier PS, Lake Wilcox PS, Henderson Avenue PS, Redstone PS, Northern Lights PS, Poplar Bank PS, Red Maple PS and others.

Stand Up Now Productions would be pleased to visit your school.

http://www.standupnow.ca

When is Bullying Prevention Week 2011 in Ontario?

National Bullying Prevention week is November 13-19, 2011. All of November is a great time to focus on anti-bullying and ways to eliminate bullying behaviours in your school. Here are some ideas to raise awareness and help reduce bullying:
1. Encourage your students to write poems, stories or songs about anti-bullying themes. Display this throughout the school.
2. Include a bullying prevention tip on the daily announcements.
3. Have an anti-bullying conference with special guests and activities.
4. Decorate the halls with appropriate messages as part of a poster-making contest.
5. Have a pink or blue shirt ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ Spirit Day.
Some of your best ideas will come directly from your students. Meet with a group of enthusiastic students who will discuss bullying prevention ideas and brainstorm creative ways to get all the students and staff involved.

I Vow To Stand Up Against Bullying

Stand Up Against Bullying T-Shirts can be ordered by contacting Stand Up Now Productions at Stand Up Now dot ca.

Camp Counselor Leadership Training for Bullying Prevention

The City of Cambridge is serious about bullying prevention. We spent time yesterday training their summer camp counselors on how to prevent bullying in summer camps. We explained and defined bullying and then talked in detail about the different kinds of bullying. Knowing what to look for is a key factor when you are dealing with children.

We believe that being proactive is vital. That’s why we teach the ‘STAMP’ strategy to be proactive against bullying. This exclusive strategy was created solely by ‘Stand Up Now’ bullying prevention organization and it stands alone as a key teaching approach to prevent bullying in children.

We had the youth participate in role-plays so they could experience first-hand how to quell bullying before it starts. Then we moved on to deal with the actual ways to handle bullying situations head-on. We teach 5 Key Concepts to deal with bullying incidents. The participants are now well-equipped to prevent and deal with bullying situations that may come up in camp situations involving children. Thanks participants – and have a great time at summer camp!
(Bruce Langford is a frequent speaker and trainer in the area of bullying prevention. Contact him by email at info ‘at’ standupnow.ca)

Townsend Community Policing Committee Hosts Bullying Event

A seminar on bullying and elder abuse took place today at the Townsend Community Church in Townsend, Ontario. Guest speaker, Bruce Langford of Stand Up Now Productions began the day with a talk about how we can stop bullying behaviours in our schools and communities. A short question and answer period followed the talk, which included a powerpoint presentation and videos.
Jennifer Schooley, was the second speaker of the day. She is from “Name It 2 Change It”, which is a community bullying prevention initiative sponsored by Haldimand Norfolk R.E.A.C.H. Jennifer’s excellent and informative presentation made it clear that she is passionate about youth and bullying prevention.
Ed Lum, from the Ontario Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse was the last speaker. His talk was a very thoughtful look at the many aspects of elder abuse including physical, psychological, neglect and financial. His presentation included a detailed look at some specific cases of elder abuse.
Thanks to David Welch and the Townsend Community Policing Committee for hosting an excellent seminar!

School Character Education Assemblies Feature Anti-Bullying Advice

“Walk with confidence and build a group of friends you can count on.”

This is part of the advice given by Benny DL (Bruce Langford) during a recent assembly near London, Ontario.  Students rushed to the front to ask their own questions and meet the presenter. They crowded around, not leaving until teachers finally cleared the gym.
“That was a terrific assembly”, a grade eight student commented. “I really learned a lot of stuff from what he said.”

Cyber-bullying and internet safety was part of the topic along with how to deal with sticky situations without ending up in trouble.
Here is one more piece of advice: Think twice before you pass on information that might be sensitive. I recently was nearly lured into telling something that I fully believed to be true.  After finding out the facts, I was totally glad I hadn’t spoken up and shared this information that actually turned out to be sensitive. Just remember, Stand Up – Cyberbullying’s Got 2 Go!
Book assemblies for your school at www.standupagainstbullying.com

Education Week Assemblies in Toronto Feature 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours

Education Week at Madoc Drive Public School was celebrated today with bullying prevention assemblies by Bruce Langford of ‘Stand Up Now Productions’.
The students were filled with enthusiasm as DJ, Benny DL went live on ATFM Radio. He talked about 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours.

1. Ignore the Bullying Behaviour (sometimes the person is just trying to get attention)
2. Say ‘Please Leave Me Alone’ (Say it in a confident way, but only once)
3. Tell a Parent, Teacher or other Trusted Adult
4. Get Friends to Help You
5. Show your Confidence

 Madoc students acted out real-life scenarios and participated in songs. A student came up afterwards commenting about the ‘great music and awesome video’. Madoc Principal, Mr. Tim Peterson makes sure students set exellent examples to inspire others. Education week is a great time to focus on bullying prevention. Just remember the 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours.

http://www.standupagainstbullying.com/

Toronto School Assemblies to Stop Bullying Dead in its Tracks

 
As adults, we are responsible for our children and youth. We must show by example how to stop bullying. We must refuse to allow bullying to rear its ugly head. It is necessary for us to understand exactly what bullying is, before we can snuff out its existence. Children also must understand what bullying is and the strategies they can use to stop it. These strategies are taught as part of ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ assemblies by Stand Up Now Productions.
Cyber-bullying has become a major problem in our society. Parents must show strength and courage in an attempt to lead children down the right path. A teacher recently commented: “The Stand Up Against Bullying assemblies need to be mandatory in every school, every year. Kids get the concepts through these programs; they just need to be reminded on a regular basis.” 
Bruce Langford and Stand Up Now Productions recently visited Whitehorn Public School in Mississauga for the second time. Their  head-on way to improve their school climate is impressive.  Whitehorn Principal, Mrs. Margaret Patterson knows exactly how to get everyone on board to help stop bullying in its tracks. At her school, students and staff use the slogan ‘Soar To The Peak’ to motivate.

The word peak stands for:
Participation / Effort / Achievement / Kindness
We can all learn from this concentrated effort. Let’s ‘Soar To The Peak’ to reduce bullying!
www.standupnow.ca 1-800-901-8831

Keep Your Focus and Believe the Bullying Will Stop

 I often talk to people about their own experiences with bullying. I was at a school recently where I talked to someone about her own personal experiences. She said bullying had been part of her life for years. She had told people about the meanness and about specific hurtful examples. She explained how she sometimes spoke up and asked the bully to stop. She tried to stay confident. She read as much about bullying as she could. She talked to friends about her frustrations. She asked her parents for advice. She said there were times when she felt discouraged, but she never gave up. She was determined that the bullying would stop and she just kept imagining a day when people would not pick on her.

When she was going into grade 6, she tried even harder to stay focused on her vision of no bullying. She said, as the year progressed, she noticed the bullying started to decrease. More people were nice to her. People would sometimes stick up for her. After Easter she realized that the bullying had actually stopped completely. She never forgot her struggles though. They remained vividly etched in her mind.

This is the kind of good-news story that can help everyone realize that bullying can be conquered! Now that she is a grade six teacher herself, she was able to tell me her story with clarity and focus. Even though it was a tough struggle, she is a shining example for her students today, and she has empathy when students talk to her about their own challenges with bullying.

Bullying prevention is the focus in our School Assemblies. Visit www.atfm.ca or www.brucelangford.ca for more information

Safe At Schools Conference at Nobleton Senior Public School, Greater Toronto

Stand Up Now featured Bruce Langford as the keynote presenter at Nobleton’s 4^th annual Safe At Schools Conference on Monday.

Principal, Ms. Nancy Redmond gave a warm welcome to the students to launch the day’s activities at Nobleton. The students from Nobleton Junior Public School were guests for the day as they participated in crafts, workshops and the ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ assemblies featuring student dramas, videos and student interaction.
The grade 6, 7 & 8 ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ presentation was geared directly to the intermediate level with stories and discussion which the students could relate to. It also included scenarios acted out by the students as well as life-like situations depicted in video clips.
Following the presentation, a number of intermediate students rushed to the front to find out more information from presenter, Bruce Langford.

A bullying prevention tip that was key in the presentation revolved around declaring Nobleton a bullying free zone by having the grade 6,7 & 8 students take a vow to ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’.

Tip: Resolve to take action when you see a bullying situation.

Nobleton Public School is a school where students definitely will take action as they ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’. We thank the students, administrators, and organizer, Ms. Deborah Godin, for a warm welcome to Nobleton and a truly rewarding day with your students!

Imagine – a life without bullying

He treats you with respect, all the time.
She lifts your spirits, whenever you see her.
The teacher understands you and offers you some advice.
Your sister smiles at you and reminds you she’s there for you.
Even though he’s way older, your uncle makes you feel important.
Your parents have this trust thing going that makes you want to trust them back.

 The world can be like this, sometimes.
Imagine – a world without bullying. Even for an hour, a day, a week.
We can all make it happen.
Stand Up Against Bullying – in your world!

Space ~ Earth ~ Bullying ~ What does it mean?

Wisdom and Respect Workshop in York Catholic DSB School

 

St. Matthew's Virtues Tree, Markham

Founded on Faith
Growing with Hope
Rooted in Love
Faith, Hope and Love are key virtues at St. Matthew Catholic School in Unionville (Markham) Ontario.

The 9 St. Matthew’s Virtues:

Unity
Wisdom
Reverence
Perseverance
Justice
Responsibility

St. Matthew's Hawks Mascot

Courage
Compassion
Integrity

In the student workshops today, we focused on Wisdom and Respect. These are very important virtues because they can shape you as the person you were meant to be. Use your wisdom to make the best choices. Use your wisdom to do things without having to be asked. That is how initiative is related to wisdom. Use your wisdom to show respect, help others and make the world a better place. Use your wisdom to grow your faith.

St. Matthew Catholic School, YCDSB

The students here at St. Matthew Catholic School take the virtues of respect and wisdom seriously. They want to use their wisdom to help grow their understanding of respect.

St. Matthew’s School

St. Matthew School Mural

 Principal, Mrs. Veronica Robinson said she would recommend the ‘Stand Up For Respect’ workshops to the other Principals in the York Catholic District School Board.
“Bruce Langford inspired and engaged all our students with his presentation skills. Excellent assemblies!”
Mrs. Veronica Robinson (Principal), St. Matthew Catholic School, Markham
(York Catholic District School Board)

Students and staff left a lasting impression with us today at St. Matthew Catholic School in Markham! Remember, ‘Stand Up For Respect’.

‘Stand Up For Respect’ workshops are available for your school. Contact Bruce Langford at Stand Up Now Productions 1-800-901-8831.

Sarnia Area School is determined to reduce bullying with Student Seminar

Hillcrest Peaceful School Pledge

The Hillcrest Peaceful School pledge is posted in the gym in a huge green peaceful school tree. The students and staff hear it every morning on the announcements.
It reads:
I attend a peaceful school.
It is my responsibility to play safe
and not say or do anything that hurts anyone’s body, feelings or things.
I respect myself.
I respect others.
I respect property.

The students showed that respect yesterday as we presented two anti-bullying seminars to the students. Hillcrest teachers gave Stand Up Now Productions top marks in their feedback reports saying they would definitely encourage other Sarnia area schools in the Lambton Kent District School Board (LKDSB) to host our Stand Up Against Bullying seminars. Teacher/Presenter, Bruce Langford was extremely pleased with the student response to the skits, videos and music.

Hillcrest Public School, Petrolia

Students at Hillcrest Public School really do care about being a peaceful school!

Helping Others Develops Strong Character at Summers Corners School in TVDSB

Bruce Langford at a TVDSB School

Snow, snow and more snow here at Summers Corners Public School near Aylmer, Ontario.

The snow brings us together. It gets us working together, helping each other. We offer to shovel snow for those who need help. We encourage each other to stay safe on the roads. We become a little closer to each other when we offer help to people.

Summers Corners Public School

Today at Summers Corners Public School in Thames Valley District School Board, our message has been to help each other and encourage each other. Be the one person who will have the strength and the courage to stand up against bullying. Be willing to take action and do something. It does take confidence and strength. It requires strong character. Every person can learn to develop their character and take charge. Summers Corners students are those kind of people. They exhibit respect and consideration and that really came through to us during our visit today.

Summers Corners School Sign

We had some student role-plays featuring Summers Corners students that focused on the bystander and how you can become the person who will do something about a situation. Summers Corners Principal, Mr. Don Naylor welcomed the students in all three assemblies and introduced Bruce Langford as the presenter. He talked about building strong character and Mr. Naylor told the students, ‘don’t be a bystander, be an upstander’.

Remember that quote! And remember to ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ at your school.

School Assemblies by Bruce Langford of ‘Stand Up Now Productions’
www.standupnow.ca

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!

Major snowfall can bring people together against bullying

The families had one thing in common; a ten year old girl named Maria, who bullied the others on the street relentlessly. She always had the last word and she used her opportunities to make the other kids feel humiliated.

Then the snow came. Three kids came out to play on the cul-du-sac. Two others came out to shovel snow down by the park. Two walked by on their way to visit a friend. They all met on the sidewalk by her house. They started talking. They laughed for a few minutes about a Youtube video they had all seen.

Maria didn’t say anything mean. She just talked about the constant snowfall and the number of snow days she had enjoyed. She sat down on a snow mountain and talked about how she wanted to change. She didn’t want to be a bully anymore.

Ottawa students stamp out bullying at Farley Mowat School (OCDSB)

Farley Mowat Public School in Ottawa is a place where we met passionate students who are totally set to stamp out bullying. Here are some of their comments:
“Thanks for helping us learn more about bullying and how to STOP it. We can STOP it!”
Grade 4 student

“Awesome show – really enjoyed the music video and the songs. It helped me understand what I can do.”
Grade 5 student

“The play was really good. This would make a bully think, why would I do this. And it would help reduce bullying for sure.”
Grade 5 student

 

Famous Farley Mowat School Wolf Mascot

“It will help people realize how a bullied person would feel.”
Gr 4 student

Princpal, Ms. Judy-Anne Brush complimented the program and Vice-Principal, Ms. Anna Lyall said she would definitely recommend the ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ assemblies to other schools.
To arrange to have Bruce Langford present assemblies at your school, call 1-800-901-8831 or visit the website at www.standupnow.ca

Farley Mowat

Students at Farley Mowat Public School, Ottawa (OCDSB) are determined to:

* Speak Up when they see bullying behaviour.

* Be positive role-models around the school and community

* Use positive language that will stop bullies in their tracks

* Ignore people who say bullying will always exist

These students are an inspiration!

York Region Bullying Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week

Poplar Bank Public School students and staff were totally on board with their determination to conquer bullying on Friday. Teacher/Presenter, Bruce Langford offered three different assemblies to the students with videos, songs and role-plays by Poplar Bank’s own students. Vice-Principal Jennifer Diceman expressed her satisfaction with all that she saw and heard in the assemblies.
“Speak up, tell an adult”, one student said when commenting about bullying. Another talked about helping her friend in a bullying situation. “We can all make a difference, if we really try!”, claimed one grade 7 student. Many students were extra pumped because they remembered DJ Benny DL from a previous visit last year when they remembered the ’Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assembly. “Will you sing that same song about passwords again?” one student asked before the show. 

Poplar Bank Bell

We learned a little history about Poplar Bank as well. The original Poplar Bank School was built of logs and was located at Yonge Street and Poplar Bank Sideroad. It was replaced in 1862 and used until 1965.  Poplar Bank

Old Poplar Bank School Building

has some of it’s history on display including the bell from the old school house.
Contact Bruce Langford at ‘Stand Up Now Productions’ 1-800-901-8831 to book assemblies for your school.

Bullying Prevention Bystander Message in Kitchener Waterloo Area School

Ayr Public School was the setting yesterday for a Parent Council Sponsored Bullying Prevention Talk for Parents and Children by speaker/presenter Bruce Langford of Stand Up Now Productions. (Stand Up Against Bullying student assemblies took place during the day.)
The school takes pride in the respectful reputation it has under the direction of principal Ms. Nancy Thorsen. The students showed keen interest in the topic of bullying as they watched their peers act in the student role-plays. The music and videos gave impact to the presentation as well. Every family who attended the parent talk was given a free music CD with 14 bullying prevention songs. The songs cover everything from telling and

Ayr Public School's Bully Box

tattling to empathy.
Here you can see that Ayr Public School really takes bullying prevention seriously. They have this Bully Box in the office so that students can write down bullying related problems and drop the information in the bullying box for confidential assistance. Principal Nancy Thorsen says that with the bully box and also  weekly class meetings, student difficulties get resolved quite quickly.
Try the bully box idea in your school. It can make an effective difference!

Ayr PS Front Hall Mural

Bystander couldn’t bear to walk away from the bullied victim at Toronto School

Anti-bullying in Toronto Middle School

John G. Althouse Middle School in Toronto is the setting. The students are acting out a role-play in front of the other grade 7 students. It was rehearsed, but we pull four more students from the audience who are supposed to just walk away from the victim with all the others. Then we plan to replay the role-play again showing what should have happened. One or more of the bystanders could have done something to help the victim.
But this time things were different. One of the girls, who had come up from the audience, just couldn’t bear to walk away from the victim, even though she was being urged by the other actors to do so.

Stand Up Now in Toronto District School Board School

That really showed that girl’s inner spirit and integrity. She just hung back like a magnet was pulling her to do something to help the victimized girl. The audience cheered. We went on to talk about what every person can do to help, who sees bullying behaviour. That girl made the point crystal clear to an audience of nearly two hundred. That girl made my day!

 John G. Althouse Vice-Principal, Jennifer Newby was impressed with the Stand Up Now assemblies.
“Great strategies with the students, good interaction and effective role-plays. We were very pleased with the Stand Up Against Bullying intermediate assemblies!”  

Contact Bruce Langford at Stand Up Now Productions at 1-800-901-8831 or visit the website at www.standupnow.ca