HPS Students are
“Mixing it Up!”
Hickory Public Schools is united against bullying. In fact, each one of the district’s nine schools has designed a bullying prevention awareness program for the students and staff.
The district follows the guidelines of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) which is not a program aimed at bullies, but rather, the program is a schoolwide program implemented at the school level, the classroom level, through individual students and in the community—according to violencepreventionworks.org, the webpage for Olweus.
“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,” said Dr. Olweus, founder of the program.
Teachers and staff are trained to use the program and deal with bullying problems while students are required to follow four anti-bullying rules: 1) We will not bully others; 2) We will try to help students who are bullied; 3) We will try to include students who are left out; 4) If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.
Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting, verbal harassment, spreading false rumors, not letting someone be part of the group, and sending nasty messages on a cell phone or over the Internet. It is important for the bystander (the witness) who observes bullying to seek help for the victim.
The four anti-bullying rules are being taught in all classrooms as HPS teachers work to make the classroom a positive and safe place for students.
Changing patterns of behavior does not happen overnight, and HPS teachers recognize bullying prevention awareness needs to remain constant throughout the school year. Each school continues to brainstorm new methods to help carry the message to the entire school family. The bottom line for Hickory Public Schools: the district will not tolerate any form of bullying.
This week, both Hickory Career and Arts Magnet High School (HCAM) and Grandview Middle School organized “Mix it Up” Day for the individual schools. At HCAM, paper bags were placed on every lunch table and students were assigned to eat their lunch with different students, moving beyond their daily routine. In each paper bag, a list of engaging questions designed to enhance dialogue and artistic activities were provided for the students. The program was led by Alice Averitt, HCAM’s student support specialist.
During HCAM’s Mix it Up Day, the school’s A Capella Club shared musical entertainment for the special luncheon program. Led by HCAM teacher, Jackie Finley, the club sang the National Anthem and Small Town Girl.
Across town, at the same time, sixth through eighth grade students at Grandview Middle School, were participating in their own version of “Mix it Up” Day. Upon arriving for lunch, each student received a different color of a Jolly Rancher hard candy. The students took a seat at the table marked with the same color where they found a list of questions, printed on cell phone images. The ice-breaker questions/dialogue ranged from sharing favorite movies to sharing favorite family memories. The Grandview program was led by Michele Kubiniec, school counselor, and Kim Heckler, assistant principal.
The simple questions and activities placed at lunch tables, at both the high school and middle school level, helped to guide the students to discover similar interests with their classmates.
Relationship building can help to build a positive environment—whether at school, at home or at work. Every student needs to feel safe in school and to be spared the experience of being bullied.
To view photos from both HCAM and Grandview's event, click on the HPS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hickoryschools/posts/10153073281482273