Health Topic for the Month: Bullying

Dear Parent/Caregiver, 

As I look back on my school days, I remember times when students were mistreated almost every  day, bullied.  You  probably can too. Bullying  has become  an important topic  for parents and  schools to address because it is different today. It is more prevalent and more intense. It is now  understood to be very destructive to the well being of students, creates unsafe schools and creates a  school climate that hinders learning. We are committed to doing something about bullying. If it’s not a problem, we want to make sure it  doesn’t start. That’s called prevention. If it is a problem, we’re determined to stop it. That’s called  intervention. As your child’s teacher, I’m committed to prevention and intervention  in my classroom. That’s why I will be teaching several lessons this year about bullying. These lessons are designed to create  a positive environment where everyone feels safe, accepted, a sense of belonging and valued. They  also provide students with information to help  them develop  empathy, self­ control, and skills to  cope with bullying and to become bystanders who take a stand against bullying. From time to time, I’ll send home a Parent Chat handout related to our Bully Free lessons. You are  asked to discuss with your child what is on the Parent Chat handout. This is a school­wide effort, therefore, each year you  may see similar Parent Chats. We  believe  this repetition in content is important for your children to learn the content. If you have questions or concerns, I hope you will contact me personally. 

Sincerely,

Ms. Hayes