Anti-Bullying
What Parents Need to Know
Bullying and Your Child's School: Our Comprehensive Plan to End Bullying
"Research shows that bullying is a serious issue that has far-reaching consequences for individuals, their families and peers, and the community at large. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, almost one-third of students are being bullied at school and more than one-fifth of students report having bullied someone else. Research indicates that a clearly articulated school-wide bullying prevention policy is the foundation of effective bullying prevention programming." ("Policy Program Memorandum 144 Bullying Prevention & Intervention" Ontario Ministry of Education, p. 3). Additionally there is growing recognition that students who engage in, witness, or are the targets of bullying experience negative consequences including academic challenges and high rates of truancy (Robinson & Espelage, 303 Emerging Issues in School Bullying Research and Prevention Science 2011). Students who are victims or witnesses of bullying face inequitable access to grow, thrive and develop in their academic community.
Our school will focus on the following four elements in order to support your child to feel safe, welcomed, and accepted:
- Education including what to do if you or a friend is being bullied, classroom lessons on empathy, cyberbullying, and being an upstander.
- School wide focus on reporting incidents of bullying with a consistent plan to follow up with both the victim and the bully (a focus on restorative justice will be used with a focus on educating bullies to avoid future instances of bullying)
- school wide assemblies and awareness campaigns including (guest speakers, anti-bulling awareness month, Day of Pink and Day of Silence)
- Regular collection of student survey data to inform and plan effective anti-bullying programming
If You Think Your Child is Being Bullied
- Talk to your child about the bullying
- Report the bullying to you child's guidance counselor or teacher
- Encourage your child to see their guidance counselor
- Follow up with your child (has the bullying stopped)
- Encourage your child to stay with friends while at school
- Encourage your child to block bullies, stay off of social media, but to keep copies of anything hurtful that was sent in writing.
Out With the Old and In With the New
GO HD.
users can post images,
video, and text anonymously
and “pin” them on a location.
Posts are available to the public via map browsing or search. Images are available for the public to see and share via Facebook and Twitter without the finger
prints of the original poster
SpoofCard, Hushed, and Burner
allow users to disguise themselves and send texts or make phone calls anonymously.
- Messitt, M. "Cyberbullying Happens in Code. Break It."
Teaching Tolerance, p. 4.
Internet Safety Tips for Parents
- Don't allow your child to be on the computer in private.
- Have computers in public areas of the home so that children can be monitored.
- Learn how to check what your child has been doing while they are on the computer.
For More tips visit: "More Information Section"
More Information
Cyberbullying
- Flaming: online fights using electronic messages that include angry and vulgar language
- Harassment, threats, and stalking, repeatedly sending cruel, vicious, or threatening messages
- Denigration: sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships
- Outing & Trickery: engaging someone in instant messaging, tricking him or her into revealing sensitive information, and forwarding that information to others
Responding to Cyberbullying Tips of Students
- Do not retaliate, as it can escalate the bullying and make it unclear who instigated the aggression
- Either ignore the communication or calmly tell the person to stop
- Tell an adult especially if there is anything threatening in the message
- Make a hard copy of the posted material
- Do not delete text messages, emails until they have been reviewed and documented by an adult
- Block future communication and clean up you "buddy lists"
- Do not do or say anything online that you wouldn't do in person or that you make you uncomfortable if other people knew
Responding to Cyberbullying Tips for Parents:
- Talk regularly with your child about online activities that they are involved in
- Respect the need for privacy, but make it clear with your child that you may need to check accounts if and when you are concerned
- Set clear expectations for responsible online behaviour and phone use. Explain the consequences for violation.
- Be aware of warning signs of cyberbullying (changes in behavour, reluctance or obsession with being online, reluctance to attend school)
- Consider installing parental control filtering software and tracking
- Be equally alert to the possibility that your child may be bullying others
- Document any bullying
- Contact the school counselor or principal to enlist help if your child is being cyberbullied by another student at the school
- Document and keep copies as evidence of cyberbullying
Source: Feinberg, T. "Cyberbullying" Principal Leadership Sep. 2008: Issue 9:, 1. P. 13.
Milton District High School
Email: munro.amy@gmail.com
Location: Milton District High School, Milton, ON, Canada
Twitter: @milttonstopabully
Police Cyber Safety Parent Presentation
Tuesday, Nov 4, 2014, 07:00 PM
Milton District High School, Milton, ON, Canada
Bullying Intervention: Training for Parents
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2014, 07:00 PM
Milton District High School, Milton, ON, Canada
Internet Workshop: Knowing Your Kid's World (presentation for parents by students)
Tuesday, Feb 10, 2015, 07:00 PM
Milton District High School, Milton, ON, Canada
Parent Presentation Breaking the Code: Understanding What Your Child is Talking About Online
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2015, 07:00 PM
Milton District High School, Milton, ON, Canada
Getting Your Child Involved in Making a Difference
RespectEd Training
RespectED training for senior students. Students apply for the program through the guidance department. Applications are available in the Guidance Department at the beginning of October. Applications are due by October 22nd at 3:30 PM to the Guidance Office. All applicants are notified in writing of the selection results. Successful applicants will attend mandatory training on November 10th & 11th.
Bullying Survey (October & June)
Students can have their voice heard by completing the school wide bulling survey. This survey is conducted twice annually in order to gather information from students in terms of areas of success and areas of need as it relates to bullying issues at our school. Every student who completes the survey will earn 1 hour (per survey) towards their community service. Students must print the survey complete verification at the conclusion of the survey and bring it to the counselling office to have hours signed off.
Join the Student Voice Anti-bullying Focus Group
This committee meets every Thursday at lunch. Students and teachers meet to discuss issues and next steps. The group helps to plan and organize student activities for Anti-bullying Awareness Month (November) and Day of Pink and Vow of Silence (April). Community service hours are granted on an individual basis determined by commitment to program initiatives.