For immediate release
October 11, 2001

Public school board proactive on preventing bullying

        The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board is taking action to stave off concerns about bullying. As part of the Board's continued commitment to a safe and positive learning environment for students, staff from schools across the district have been trained to tackle bullying. October 17 to 23 is National School Safety Week and this year the Canada Safety Council is focussing their annual campaign on bulling in schools.
        Bullying can be defined as a social relationship where a victim is exposed repeatedly and over time in negative actions on the part of one or more other persons. It's most often characterized as someone being "picked on" by someone else. It can be physical, verbal, or psychological behaviours.
        The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has taken a proactive stance to curb bullying. By implementing a number of programs and offering service to students, the goal is to make the school environment safer for children both physically and psychologically.

• With support from the Elementary Teachers Federation and the Safe Schools Committee, the anti-bullying program "Bully-Proofing Your School" is available in all elementary schools in our Board. The Child and Youth Counsellor team, as well as interested teachers from our elementary schools, have been trained to implement the Bully-Proofing program and provide support to bullies, victims and their families. The "Bully-Proofing Your School" program encourages turning the silent majority (the 85% of students who are neither bullies or victims) into the "caring majority". The complete curriculum teaches students how to deal assertively with bullying situations and how to support victims.
• Staff with the HPEDSB have recently completed a full analysis of the program "Bully-Proofing Your School" to tie the program into the current curriculum for elementary schools. This means that teachers and schools who are implementing the program will be able to relate the material to the content of their required curriculum.
• Each of elementary and secondary schools in the district has a Child and Youth Counsellor available at the school to provide counselling and support to those in need. Tips for parents are also available through the Child and Youth Counsellor.  More information about accessing the Child and Youth Counsellor is available through individual schools.
• The Ontario Provincial Police have developed a Puppet Theatre, The OPPIES, which deals with bullying specifically. This interactive educational tool will be made available in all OPP serviced areas of our Board. Kids on the Block (Children's Mental Health) and the Fan Club (Canadian Mental Health Association) also provide puppet theatre to bring messages about bullying and other social issues to young children in our schools.
• The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and the Child and Youth Counsellor Team  provides a range of programs to support safe schools such as Peacemakers, Peer Mediation, Restorative Justice, and Living Colour.
• The Safe School Committee continues to support CAVEAT Day for Secondary students.  CAVEAT Day is a full day of anti-violence training for teens. CAVEAT 2001, on October 25, seeks to continue with the tradition of allowing students to make significant contributions towards a more just, peaceful, and safe society.

For more information contact:
Lisa Shunock, Child & Youth Counsellor,  966-1170  ext. 2451