A Special Visitor Brings A Special Message

We were glad to have the former director of Safe-Schools of Missouri present information today to our kids in grades K-8. Since it is Bullying Prevention Month, Glenn Berry, talked with the kids in grade appropriate groups about bullying and how to prevent it. He gave many tips for bystanders to use and he also was pleased to see the specific anti-bullying expectations we have which go along with the research-based approaches of Olweus. These expectations are listed here and posted throughout the halls. Teachers will also be having class meetings about them: • We will not bully others. • We will try to help students who are bullied. • We will try to include students who are left out. • If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

In case you were wondering, here is the definition of bullying from our Family Handbook:

"A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself." This definition includes three important components: 1. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions. 2. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time. 3. Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength. ---From Dan Olweus in his book: Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do---