National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
Today is the eighth annual National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA) and Ivanhoe Grammar School is a registered NDA school.
This week we have seen a number of school- and student-led initiatives that ask us to imagine a world free from bullying.
At The Ridgeway Campus, we were privileged to hear from a Police Officer at assembly this week where we heard about the shocking statistics and potentially devastating effects of bullying. And at Buckley House, students and staff have turned to art; making posters to hang in Friendship Corner. Students from the Middle Years created their own imagery, brainstormed ideas and came up with anti-bullying slogans.
Year 6 students from Plenty Campus have created a Courage and Compassion film focusing on anti-bullying tactics which was shown at an all-school assembly. While in the senior years, pocket cards have been produced to help students through the steps of recognising and reporting bullying if they see or experience it. At the assembly at Plenty Campus, Head of Campus Dan Brown used attributes of an Ivanhoe Learner – ethical, reflective, compassionate and courageous – to invite all members of our school community to examine their actions and those of their friends today and every day.
Ethical: pay attention to your own behaviour. Ask yourself, am I being respectful and responsible? Am I putting people down or raising people up?
Reflective: how does your behaviour impact someone else? Words and actions can be unintentionally hurtful. Think about why you say or do things. What is underlying your behaviour?
Compassionate: have empathy; put yourself in other people’s shoes. We all like to be treated with care and kindness. Reach out and support others.
Courageous: it takes bravery to stand up to a bully or to speak up on behalf of someone who is being bullied. It also takes courage to reach out and ask for help. There is support all around you; your parents, friends, teachers, big brothers and sisters. You are never alone.
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