December Bullying Update

Well December is here. The following are some examples of what grade levels have been discussing regarding bullying.

Fun Fact: 72% of all first graders used a computer weekly during the summer.

Bullying Lessons with Mrs. Oljey

1st grade- We read the story The Sneetches, by Dr. Seuss. The story is about creatures who thought that their ONE differences was more important than ALL their similarities. They start out by thinking that they are all different, and realize that they are really very similar. A discussion is held about the book and about real life.

2nd grade- The lessons begin by talking about friendships. The book How to Be a Friend and Keeping Them by Laurie Krashny Brown is read. A discussion about various good and bad friendship qualities are discussed.

3rd grade- A powerpoint presentation is a cartoon format is reviewed with the students. It talks about what a bully is. This includes cyberbullying, what a victim/target is, along with a bystander and egger. Discussions are then held with the class about the cartoon and how the various types of bullying could be stopped.

4th grade- a review of bullying is held. Students are instructed to come up with a bullying situation that they will be creating a story about to share with a future 1st grade "buddy" classroom.

The "New" New Hampshire Bullying Law

This past June Governor Lynch signed House Bill 1523, (The Bullying Bill). This stronger law requires that within nine months of July 1, 2010 all school district employees and volunteers receive annual training on the district's local bullying policy. Cyberbullying is now part of statue, and districts are required to provide educational programs for pupils and parents in preventing, identifying, responding to and reporting bullying.

For bullying tips go to www.cyberbullying.us. That should take you to Cyber Bullying Research Center. ANother source is the book titled; "Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard" by Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin.

(Thank you to Esther Asbell for the above information).

You can also stay current with how the Goffstown School District intends to follow this new law by the following:

1. http://goffstown.k12.nh.us/SAU19/

2. Scroll down the left side of the page and look for Resources.

3. Click on Anti-Bullying Project

With only 10 more school days to go, Summer is just around the corner! Does you family have Summer plans yet? Are your kids begging you to send them to camp? How do you pick out the best camp that will suit them? What camps are close to your home? What camps are run only during the day? Do you think your child is ready for an overnight camp? Is there financial aid?Check out the following website for a NH directory of kids camps.

www.directorynh.com/camps/new-hampshire-summer-camps.htm

Career Awareness

Who would ever think that I would be talking to fourth graders about their future? All 4th graders had three classroom lessons with me to explore various occupations that are out there. A discussion was held on the differences between a career verses an occupation. The objective was to research different occupations that students did not hear about before and explain them to their classmates. Students were asked to brainstorm various jobs out there. The lists they came up with was quite extensive!

The second meeting we had was to explore occupations by using the following website. www.knowitall.org. Students were able to explore occupations by clicking on the job and viewing a brief video about it. Towards the end of the class, students were asked to discuss what they viewed, describe what the job entailed and if they found it interesting.

The final lesson again was technology driven by going to the website: www.bls.gov/home.htm. Click on career information for kids. Students were able to research various occupations, see how much money one makes in that occupation, how much education is required, a description of the job, as well as view pro's and con's of the job. This lead into some interesting conversations.

A bystander? What is that?

A bystander? What is that? Students may get teased, threatened or picked on by a bully. But, if another student observes this going on what choices do they have? A bystander is someone who witnesses bullying occurring. Bystander have two choices: help the victim or not help the victim. We hope that students would choose to help by either confronting the bully confidently in a safe way or getting help from an adult. This also reinforces our universal behavior program Second Step. We want to treat others how we want to be treated. If someone is being unkind to you, would you appreciate it if someone helped you out?

Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarship Program

Recognizing kids 6-18. Stand up kids who deserve to stand out.

Visit www.kohlskids.com for more details to nominate a deserving young volunteer. Nominations accepted Feb. 1st-March 15th, 2010.

Second Grade Diversity Lessons

Mrs. Oljey, school counselor, will be entering all second grade classrooms to discuss diversity with the students. Diversity is differences between other people that make us special and unique. This includes opinions of others. The discussion will also incorporate respecting other’s differences including opinions.

This will occur through 3 classroom lessons lasting 30 minutes each in the month of January or February. This is done by lecture, book reading, followed by discussion, and various activities.

Activities include having each student come up with one way that they are diverse and drawing a picture of that. Another activity includes students walking to various sections of the room based on their likes and dislikes. In the last activity, students are shown various optical illusions. They will have an opportunity in 4 centers to view optical illusions independently and discuss what they see with their group. Again, the emphasis will be on respecting others opinions. Students will then complete a drawing that is partial done. Everyone will have a chance to share and see how different their project is compared to others.