Category Archives: Character Education

How friends can reduce cyber-bullying at Howard Public School, Toronto

Students at Howard Public School in Toronto have their own ideas about how to stand up against bullying. They believe that their friends can help them and that people should stand by their friends. We talked about ways that people can support each other and how you sometimes need to talk with a teacher, a parent or another trusted adult. We saw a role-play about how bystanders can help. We talked about a video that encouraged empathy.

Howard Public School Outdoor Mosaic Mural

Principal, Mrs. Rosanna Sardella spoke highly of our ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies and said she would encourage other schools to host the assemblies.
Bruce Langford’s school assemblies are available for students from kindergarten to grade 8. www.standupagainstbullying.com

Remember, friends can stand up for each other. That can help reduce bullying!

How to teach children not to bully… (Peel School Board)

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Whitehorn Public School in Mississauga has some answers to this question. ‘Soaring to the Peak’ is an answer you will hear from the children. You see, Whitehorn Mountain is in Mount Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. It is a 2,621 metre high mountain of pure natural beauty.

The students of Whitehorn School know they must strive to meet the challenge of ‘Soaring to the Peak’ by:

Participation
Effort
Achievement
Kindness

Q. What is a person called who sees and hears meanness, but they don’t do anything about it?

A. Scared.

That is the answer we heard yesterday from a student who watched a role-play in our ‘Stand Up For Respect’ assembly and felt empathy for the person being bullied. In the adult world, the correct answer to the question is ‘bystander’. Children need to know that a bystander is not a bad person. A bystander may not know what to do, or the incident may have happened so fast, they didn’t have time to react. It is important to teach children what bystanders can do to reduce bullying behaviours, but let’s not blame children for not stepping in when we also tell them to always look out for their safety.

Whitehorn Public School is a respectful place because people care. People know that teaching respect means modeling respect. Principal, Mrs. Margaret Patterson is a great example of how to nurture respect in a caring environment. Mrs. Patterson and her staff definitely ‘Soar to the Peak’ at Whitehorn Public School!

School Respect Assemblies in Waterloo Region by Presenter Bruce Langford

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Stand Up For Respect was the theme of the day at Waterloo school, N.A. MacEachern Public School (WRDSB).

Students shared their ideas on how the world can be a more respectful place. One student said, “If only people would just remember to be nice to each other all the time”. Another spoke about the importance of manners. Yet another reminded the audience to be optimistic, and how optimism can help keep people positive.

Students said they liked the song ‘Confidence ‘ and wanted to know if they could download it on itunes. They said they loved the role-plays acted out by their peers.

Ms. Maedith Radlein, Principal of MacEachern, told us she was very pleased with the assemblies and liked how each assembly was designed for that age group. She liked the discussion format with the grade 7 & 8 students. “I will definitely be a reference for your Stand Up Now programs,” she told us.

Principal Endorsed Anti-Bullying Prevention Assemblies in Toronto

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Parents, please be aware of what your children are doing on line!
This is one of the cyberbullying tips we shared during our ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’ parent workshop at Julliard School today. More than 57 families attended the parent talk about cyber-bullying by teacher/presenter Bruce Langford. Parents learned strategies to quell cyber-bullying and they were enthusiastic with the role-plays presented by their children.

Here is some feedback following the student assemblies:
“The’Stand Up For Respect’ assemblies were excellent! Bruce Langford presented three different programs all geared to our specific grade levels here at Julliard French Immersion School (Toronto). Bruce has a lovely manner with the students and covered many points about bullying prevention using terminology we use here at Julliard. The assemblies were just the right length for our students. We would like to have Bruce back to present his ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies. Our parent evening was also a big success!
Judith Goldberg, Vice-Principal Julliard Public School, Maple Ontario

Students were totally engaged with the Stand Up For Respect assemblies. They were completely focused on the role-plays and videos. They answered questions respectfully, clapped along with the songs and wondered when they would be able to see another presentation by Benny DL. Benny DL is also known as speaker/presenter, Bruce Langford, of Stand Up Now Productions.
Julliard Public School is a place where students, teachers and staff have high standards and really care about respect. That was an obvious conclusion based on our one day visit to Julliard Public School.

Weekly Character Education Pays off in Waterloo Region School

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Students at Edna Staebler Public School in Waterloo (Waterloo Region District School Board) believe in the value of Character Education. We visited the school yesterday, and were greeted warmly by the students and staff. Principal, Mr. Jeffery Parliament told us that the students have been receiving weekly character education lessons from a staff member. We could tell.

Edna Staebler Picture at Edna Staebler School

“Treat others how you want to be treated,” was a comment that came from a student early on in one of the assemblies. We talked about empathy, and about doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
“Being honest and caring can help build stronger friendships”, a grade 7 student remarked.
We talked about being careful on-line and making the right choices about on-line activities.
A student role-play made it crystal-clear that a bystander can become a person who can definitely make a difference in a given situation.

Author Edna Staebler with her cats

Mr. Parliament said he felt the assemblies were well done and liked how we changed the assemblies to be appropriate for each division.
“Our character education classes have been some of our most important classes”, a grade 8 girl told me after the intermediate assembly.
I thought about how good it feels to be in a school where character education is taken seriously by students and staff!

Flags in the lobby of Edna Staebler School

The ‘Stand Up For Respect’ Character Ed assemblies by Stand Up Now Productions all feature video, music and student role-play as well as teacher follow-up materials.
Visit www.standupforrespect.ca

Catholic Faith School Assemblies Promote Respect – Respect Stamps Out Bullying

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The fact that increased respect can reduce bullying was emphasized at St. David Catholic School in Maple yesterday as speaker/presenter Bruce Langford delivered three Character Assemblies called ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’.

St. David in Foyer

Respect is a way of life at St. David Catholic School in Maple. (York Catholic District School Board YCDSB)
Principal Ms. Angel Hayes and Vice-Principal Mr. Peter Morone encourage respectful behaviour on a daily basis at St. David School. Teachers are looked up to and older students understand they are role models for the younger children.

Respect Tip # 1: Treat people right even when no one is looking.
Some people think respect just means appearing respectful or looking and acting respectful. The truth is, respect even relates to your innermost thoughts. People who only act appropriately when they think someone that matters is watching, are missing the point.

Respect Tip # 2: Choose positive thoughts and you will grow respect.
We can all control our thoughts. Keep your thoughts respectful and your character will start to blossom. Eliminate profanity, put-downs and nasty comments from your thoughts and lips. This will help you to be a more respectful person.

These above ideas are part of our philosophy and part of what we shared in our character building assemblies at St. David Catholic School yesterday. Principal Ms. Angel Hayes and VP Mr. Peter Morone both readily agreed to be references for the ‘Stand Up Now’ assemblies letting us know they had received great feedback from staff and students.

To arrange assemblies for your school, visit our website at www.standupagainstbullying.com or call 1-800-901-8831

A tip to build solid friendships in Dufferin Peel Catholic Schools

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Tip: You can build more friendships if you are always honest with people. Honesty is a very important part of friendships that is sometimes overlooked. What might seem like the smallest lie can still hurt a friendship in a big way. Even if no one ever finds out about the lie, it is still a lie. It is a dishonest part of you that lives inside you. Start today. Make up your mind to stick to the truth. Be committed to integrity and don’t stray from being completely truthful.
The above friendship and respect tip was included as part of our ‘Stand Up For Respect’ presentations today at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School in Mississauga (DPCDSB). We met many students at St. Elizabeth Seton who obviously are committed to being respectful people. Students thought about the many aspects of respect as they watched role-plays and videos about the topic. Teachers and students told us that the ‘Stand Up For Respect’ assemblies helped kids understand how even one person can make a big difference when they make a choice on the side of respect. Just remember, Stand Up For Respect in your daily life and do your best to be honest.
Bruce Langford presents programs on respect, bullying and cybersafety in school boards across Ontario. The ‘Stand Up Now’ website is www.standupnow.ca

Oscar Peterson PS Bullying Prevention & Respect – Peel District School Board Mississauga

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Respect was the theme of the day on Monday as Stand Up Now Productions visited Oscar Peterson Public School to present three assemblies. Principal, Ms. Judy Richards explained that ‘respect’ is an ongoing theme at the school and she welcomed strategies the children could use immediately. Here are some comments we received from the students after the assemblies: “The BennyDL video was really funny and helped me remember ways to show respect.”
“I liked the acting because I learned how to speak up to a bossy person.”

“The songs were awesome, especially the ‘Respect’ song at the end.”

We had a great time being visitors for the day and we were certainly treated with respect by all the students and staff we met. Stand Up Now Productions will visit your school with presenter Bruce Langford. See the website at www.standupnow.ca

York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) Cyberbullying Got 2 Go Assemblies

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Today Our Lady Help of Christians (OLHC) Catholic School in Richmond Hill hosted Bruce Langford, of Stand Up Now Productions to present two assemblies. Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go was the name of the assembly for grades 6,7,8 students. Three role plays by OLHC students were featured which emphasized to children about the dark side of facebook, the possibility of cyber predators, and possible cyber stalking. The song ‘Passwords’ was also a feature of the program. It included a number of tips about passwords including the repeated line: passwords – keep ‘em to yourself, tell no one else.

Here is a tip about passwords: Never choose a password by using the name of your pet or your street name. Others can often guess those kinds of passwords. Instead choose 8-14 characters which include lower case, upper case, numbers and symbols.

We remarked to Principal Ms. Gabriela Mastrodi-Casa how impressed we were with her school. Students were keen to learn about the concepts being taught in the assemblies, and the student audience was completely attentive during all the videos, role-plays and songs. They were also respectful as we spoke about the importance of Catholic faith and how it relates to the topic of treating others the right way.

Book Bruce Langford to present programs in your school. 1-800-901-8831 or visit the website at www.standupnow.ca

Bullying Prevention Bystander Message in Kitchener Waterloo Area School

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Ayr Public School was the setting yesterday for a Parent Council Sponsored Bullying Prevention Talk for Parents and Children by speaker/presenter Bruce Langford of Stand Up Now Productions. (Stand Up Against Bullying student assemblies took place during the day.)
The school takes pride in the respectful reputation it has under the direction of principal Ms. Nancy Thorsen. The students showed keen interest in the topic of bullying as they watched their peers act in the student role-plays. The music and videos gave impact to the presentation as well. Every family who attended the parent talk was given a free music CD with 14 bullying prevention songs. The songs cover everything from telling and

Ayr Public School's Bully Box

tattling to empathy.
Here you can see that Ayr Public School really takes bullying prevention seriously. They have this Bully Box in the office so that students can write down bullying related problems and drop the information in the bullying box for confidential assistance. Principal Nancy Thorsen says that with the bully box and also weekly class meetings, student difficulties get resolved quite quickly.
Try the bully box idea in your school. It can make an effective difference!

Ayr PS Front Hall Mural