THE FRANCIS HOWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS A COMMITMENT TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FREE OF ANY FORM OF BULLYING
Parents or Guardians,
Our school is taking several preventative measures to eliminate bullying. We would like to inform you of safe methods to report suspected bullying. Of course our teachers, counselors, other staff and administration are individuals to safely report suspected bullying to. In addition, Missouri has developed a School Violence Hotline that we would like you to be aware of as another potential reporting method. Students and parents can call 1-866-748-7047 and receive a live voice Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. with voicemail after hours.
Reports can be made 24 hours a day on the following website www.schoolviolencehotline.com. This year, text message reports of bullying will also be accepted by texting “REPORTIT” to 84741.
*Our staff and students have been engaged in training sessions, assemblies, lessons and class meetings on bullying prevention. The staff and students are learning about Bullying vs. Teasing (appropriate humor), Safe Zones, Bully/Target/Bystander (How to be a Hero), Safe Reporting Methods, and how to recognize when someone is Hot, Cool or Cold. Our counselors and classroom teachers are doing 15-20 lessons this school year on bullying prevention. We are also having assemblies to teach about bullying prevention.
*During the 2010-2011 school year, 14 incidents were referred to the office as “Bullying.”
FHSD Definition of Bullying-
Bullying is the intentional action by an individual or group of individuals to inflict physical, emotional or mental suffering on another individual or group of individuals.
· Bully: One habitually cruel to others who are weaker (REPETITIVE)
· Victim: One that is subjected to oppression, hardship or mistreatment
· Bystander: One who witnesses the bullying behavior and has a choice to be a HERO IN ACTION or to allow bullying to continue
Various Types of Bullying:
· Physical-act of using or threatening violence to impose dominance over another.
· Emotional-act of using verbal or written insults, name calling, raised voices, gossip, or taunting to impose dominance over another.
· Resource Intimidation-act of using material to impose dominance over another (the way we dress, what we possess, our level of intelligence, etc)
· Relational Intimidation-act of, or threatening to withdraw or abandon someone to impose dominance over another (Ex, “I will no longer be your friend.”)
· Cyber Intimidation-use of technology to facilitate all of the above or to allow for multiple “bullies” to attack anonymously to impose dominance over another.
What can we do as a staff and Becky-David community?
Deterrents:
· Increase supervision
· Empower bystanders to help the victim
· Empower the victim
· Retrain the student demonstrating bullying behavior
Ways to Retrain a student displaying bullying behavior-
1. Get student to admit bullying behavior
2. Define the victim
3. Discuss options
4. Redefine humor
5. Reinforce idea that they are a “good kid” making poor choices (12 step program-going to have bad days, reinforcements might need to last for 122 days or beyond)
6. Encourage other outlets
7. Remind them of what they can become
8. Involve peers and mentors
9. Be an example of appropriate power
10. Make them feel needed
11. Expect direction, not perfection
12. Give tools and reinforce positives often
Signs of bullying
A child may indicate by their behavior that he or she is being bullied. If your child shows some of the following signs, bullying may be responsible and you might want to ask if someone is bullying or threatening them. Children may:
· be frightened of walking to and from school
· change their usual route
· not want you to go on the school bus
· beg you to drive them to school
· be unwilling to go to school (or be 'school phobic')
· feel ill in the mornings
· begin truanting
· begin doing poorly in their school work
· come home regularly with clothes or books destroyed
· come home starving (bully taking dinner money)
· become withdrawn, start stammering, lack confidence
· become distressed and anxious, stop eating
· attempt or threaten suicide
· cry themselves to sleep, have nightmares
· have their possessions go missing
· ask for money or start stealing (to pay the bully)
· continually 'lose' their pocket money
· refuse to talk about what's wrong
· have unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches
· begin to bully other children, siblings
· become aggressive and unreasonable
· give improbable excuses for any of the above
If you see the signs of bullying (noted above), please contact your child’s teacher, counselor, or school administrator immediately at 636-851-4200.