Besides wearing pink T-shirts, students at Brooks Secondary School will also be working together to create a vision of what makes a school safe and inclusive.
Today, Wednesday, February 25, is commemorated as Pink Shirt Day across the province, not only in schools but also in workplaces, as a way to raise awareness around the issue which has drawn increased attention over the past decade.
Although anti-bullying day is once a year, the counsellors at Brooks were quick to point out that efforts to teach students necessary skills happens throughout the school year at all grade levels. Teaching takes many forms—in curriculum, through presentations and workshops, and with various groups on campus, like the student council and the gay, straight, transgender alliance club.
Much attention is placed on technology that allows for cyberbulling to occur and Tony Marciniak, one of two counsellors at Brooks, said there are virtually no students at the high school without a cell phone. While those phones help teens connect, they also allow conflict to transfer from the school hallways to online making it more covert and harder to monitor, he added.
Marciniak noted that as reports and awareness of bullying have increased, the culture of silence around the issue has lessened, which has helped counsellors and administrators play a larger role. Much of the conflicts that happen on social media can be solved through mediation, Allison Burt, Brooks counsellor, added.
“We could spend all our time learning the ins and outs of the technology,” said Burt, “but we are better served by teaching kids the coping and problem solving skills, so that they know what to do when they encounter it.”
Marciniak added that students who are more self-assured are less likely to bully because they don’t need to. Counsellors work with both victims and bullies because both need support, Burt added.
Students will be working on building a safe and inclusive environment at school during pink shirt day.
All classes will be tasked with thinking about and working together to determine what makes a safe and inclusive environment and a large wall display will be created with ideas.
For those who have faced bullying at school or online, the counsellors are available to speak with students who have concerns. If students wish to report something that happened and yet remain anonymous, they are encouraged to use the ministry of education erase bullying online reporting tool which sends notification to School District 47’s safe schools coordinator.
“There are lots of avenues for parents and kids to access support,” said Burt.
