Category Archives: cyber-bullying assemblies

Cyber-Bullying, Respect and Responsibility Assembly in Toronto area Catholic School

St Julia Billiart Catholic SchoolCyber-bullying programs at St. Julia Billiart Catholic School in Toronto’s Markham area Tuesday May 6, 2014 made an impact on staff and students. The message was about Responsibility and Respect and how Cyber-bullying would not exist if we all took the responsibility for our own actions and made up our minds to live with complete respect. Of course we’re all human, but I like to look at the positive side.

St. Julia students and staff proved to me they are already incredibly respectful and responsible. That’s probably why our cyber-bullying prevention message was so well received. They were interactive and totally tuned into the songs about respect and cyber-safety. They were wide-eyed as they watched the videos. Discussion about bullying and cyber-bullying revealed that Continue reading

Parent Reaching Out Grants for Bullying Prevention Programs

Government subsidies can help with bullying  prevention. Parent Reaching Out (PRO) Grants for Ontario School Councils are available for 2012 to help increase parent involvement in support of student achievement and well-being. Be sure to apply for 2013 funding once the applications are released, so that you can use your funds for a good cause within your school. Many school councils choose to fund bullying prevention programs as well as purchase anti-bullying books and resources for their school libraries. We have delivered many bullying prevention programs in schools, made possible with the funding from the Ontario Government’s Parent Reaching Out grants.

Great feedback has been received from parents, teachers, principals and students. Here are some comments:

“Bruce Langford’s Stand Up Now programs were excellent, filled with valuable content of benefit to our students. I would gladly endorse this program.”
Ms. Marika Boshyk, Principal St. Demetrius Catholic School Toronto  Toronto Catholic District School Board

“I was impressed with how each presentation was tailored to the needs and interest level of each division. The presentations were creative and interactive and they certainly captured the attention of the students. Thank you again for addressing such an important topic in such an engaging manner.”
Ms. Kim Moses, Teacher Trillium Woods Public School, Richmond Hill  York Region District School Board

“Bruce, we loved your interactive approach with the audience during your presentations, giving our students an opportunity to voice their concerns around bullying through the question and answer portion of the assembly. Your presentation fostered a comfort level with the students that encourage them to be open and honest during the assembly, qualities that tend to be lost when dealing with issues of bullying.”
Claudio Moschella (Acting VP) Earnscliffe Senior Public School, Bramption Peel District School Board

Bruce Langford offers bullying prevention presentations for schools and parent groups
www.standupagainstbullying.com  Phone 905-233-2102

Simcoe County District School Board School Welcomes Anti-Bullying Speaker, Bruce Langford

Simcoe County School in Barrie OntarioWest Bayfield Elementary School in Barrie was our destination today, where we presented ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ and ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies to all students from JK to grade 8. Students were passionate about the topic. They were eager to learn as much as Stand Up at West Bayfield Elementarythey could about the internet and the dangers of cyberspace. They told stories and acted out scenarios. The Simcoe County District School Board has raised awareness that dangers lurk in cyberspace. Students just wanted to learn the details.Honesty is a virtue

We talked about how GPS encoding is embedded in photographs taken on many cell phones and how it can reveal exactly when the photo was taken. One student told us a story about how his facebook account Caring Poster in Barrie Ontariohad been hacked into and the violator set up another facebook account which was an exact duplicate of his own. The student had good news about the outcome. He was actually able to have the offending site removed, because he was able to get into it himself and have it Stand Up Artworkdeleted.

We were impressed when we arrived at the school, because students had posted visual artwork on the topic of ‘Caring’ and ‘Stand Up’ and how we can all stand together to trump bullying. I’ve included some of the photos here along with a short video.

Students, teachers and administrators told us how pleased they were with the three contrasting assemblies.

“Presentations were entertaining, insightful, and age appropriate. They were thoroughly enjoyed by all of our students and they learned a great from them. I would highly recommend Bruce’s presentations for any school.”
Mike Geer, Principal, West Bayfield Elementary School, Barrie Ontario

Bruce Langford, Anti-bullying advocate and international speaker presenter: www.brucelangford.ca

 

Safe Schools Concert Assembly for Toronto Elementary Students

Just visited Grenoble Public School near Toronto, where we performed a Safe Schools Concert before a whole gym full of enthusiastic students. We sang about ways to support and encourage each other in every-day situations.
Encourage Each Other Students learned real life examples about how to encourage others and end up having a safer school. Cyber-safety and the internet was one of the concert themes as well. The song ‘Stay Safe’ explains that computers connected to the internet need to be in a central place in your home, like a kitchen or family room where everyone goes. It also teaches that personal information should not be published on-line. Here are some of the song lyrics:

Stay Safe    ©Written by Bruce Langford

Your address is personal information, stay safe, stay safe;
Your phone number and your school name too.
Do not share personal information.
Not in on-line conversation.
Keep things private, no hesitation,
Stay safe, stay safe, just some friendly advice.

 At home play computer in a central place, stay safe, stay safe;
A kitchen or a family room where everyone goes.
Share what you’re doing with your family.
Work at the screen where all can see.
Then you will have help when a problem comes up,
Stay safe, Stay safe, just some friendly advice.

Remember to work together and do the right things to make your school a safer place.

School Character Education Assemblies Feature Anti-Bullying Advice

“Walk with confidence and build a group of friends you can count on.”

This is part of the advice given by Benny DL (Bruce Langford) during a recent assembly near London, Ontario.  Students rushed to the front to ask their own questions and meet the presenter. They crowded around, not leaving until teachers finally cleared the gym.
“That was a terrific assembly”, a grade eight student commented. “I really learned a lot of stuff from what he said.”

cyber-bullying text messageCyber-bullying and internet safety was part of the topic along with how to deal with sticky situations without ending up in trouble.
Here is one more piece of advice: Think twice before you pass on information that might be sensitive. I recently was nearly lured into telling something that I fully believed to be true.  After finding out the facts, I was totally glad I hadn’t spoken up and shared this information that actually turned out to be sensitive. Just remember, Stand Up – Cyberbullying’s Got 2 Go!
Book assemblies for your school at www.standupagainstbullying.com

Social Networking Assemblies at Toronto School

Cyber-bullying, social networking and texting were all topics we covered at St. Cyril Catholic School in Toronto. We encouraged the students to safe-guard themselves against dangerous scenarios that can develop with social networking.

St. Cyril's Catholic School, Toronto

Here is a tip: Realize that there are many social networking choices with different safety features and ways of connecting.

Two alternative choices are: Togetherville and Everloop.
Following our cyber-safety presentations at St. Cyril, teacher-librarian Mrs. Madeline Beverly told us: “Your Stand Up Now assemblies were really, really well done – informative and captivating!”

www.standupnow.ca

Can facebook lead to depression, suicide, murder?

A study in the American Academy of Pediatrics says when teens spend hours on social networking sites they can start comparing themselves to others. That can lead to depression in certain

Girls comparing friends lists on Facebook

personalities. The study states: “The intensity of the online world may be a factor leading to depression in some adolescents.”

I recently visited a school where 25 of 27 students in a grade 5 class were active on facebook.

Children that young don’t have the skills to deal with complex relational issues which can arise on social networking sites like facebook.
Parents need to be aware of what children are doing on-line. If you are a parent and are allowing your young children to be active on social networking, at least be on their friend list so you can keep tabs on what is happening.
Some children become devastated as a result of social networking incidents. That can lead to depression, suicide, bullycide or even murder.

Monday, we presented our ‘Cyberbullying – Got To Go’ assemblies at St. Bernadette Catholic School in Toronto (Mississauga). Those children have learned how to stay safe on-line and have received practical tips and advice on cyber-safety.
For information about our programs, visit www.brucelangford.ca

Henderson Avenue School Welcomes Speaker, Bruce Langford

Henderson Avenue Welcome Mural

The welcome mural in the office at Henderson Avenue Public School in Thornhill Ontario, welcomes all nationalities. Henderson Avenue School extends its friendship and goodwill to all people, regardless of their culture or heritage.

Respect is alive and well at Henderson and consistent examples of respectful behaviour are seen on a regular basis throughout the school.

Here is a respect tip I would like to share:
Never let a mean situation go by without doing your part. Here are five possibilities:

  1. Speak up and ask the person to stop.
  2. Change the subject or redirect the topic to something else.
  3. Tell a supportive adult you trust.
  4. Talk to a friend about what happened.
  5. Share some words of support later with the person who was being picked on.

 

Henderson Avenue Public School, Thornhill Ontario

Today we presented ‘Stand Up For Respect’, ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ and ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ at Henderson Avenue Public School. After the assemblies, grade 6 teacher, Ms. Shannon Ostilly commented:

“We were very happy with all three assemblies by Stand Up Now Productions. Thanks so much for coming to Henderson Avenue!”

Inspirational School Sponsors Stand Up To Bullying Assemblies in Waterloo Board

Woodland Park has spirit! Here is the proof. Everywhere you look you are inspired with displays, slogans, quotes Random Acts of Kindnessand murals. Even more inspirational than that are the warm vibrations you get from the staff and students. Everyone works together at Woodland Park to make sure the positive feeling is alive. Here are some of the messages we read when we arrived at the school to present our ‘Cyberbullying – Got 2 Go’ assemblies.
No matter who you are,
Or where you’re from
Your future is up to you!
Experience the power of community.
Open hearts and open minds.
LIVE A PERFECT DAY.
DO SOMETHING KIND FOR A Perfect Days has no bullyingSOMEONE
WHO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPAY YOU.
Every day, try to be a little kinder than necessary.
Principal, Mrs. Ogilvie, takes great pride in the Bears Mascot at Woodland Park Public Schoolamount of school spirit present within these walls. Cooperation, joy, kindness, caring and hope. These are all attributes that matter in school. They are all present at Woodland Park School. Teachers, Woodland Park PS Building, Cambridge Ontariochildren, administration and support staff all work together to achieve happiness and peace at Woodland Park. Children thrive when they feel the powerful positive vibes in their environment like those present at Woodland Park.
Woodland Park Public School in Cambridge is an inspiring school!
Woodland Park, Home of the Bears, sponsored Cyberbullying Prevention Assemblies by Bruce Langford, of Stand Up Now Productions. Principal, Mrs. Ogilvie said “the feedback was excellent and the messages were exactly what we were hoping for!”

‘Be Kind On-Line’ Beat Cyberbullying Song

Here is a song we put together to help people learn how to beat cyberbullying and stay safe online. It is called:

“Be Kind On-Line” and the music & lyrics are by Bruce Langford. The song is copyright 2008. The words are below.

1. Online chatting, text messages and e-mails

This is how we check on social details

Try to be friendly, don’t put people down

This is my advice – now spread it around.

Be kind, online.

 

2. Words you use on line are not as private as you think

Stuff that you sent can be found out in a wink

Screens can be printed, captured or saved

You could get in trouble for the way you behaved.

Be kind, online.

 

3. If you show true respect for other people online

You’re showing how we all should be all the time

It’s likely that your friends will start doing it too

‘Cause you’ll set an example of what people should do.

Be kind, online.

 

4. You likely will become the person people respect

Never really knowing how many you effect

Just ‘cause you made up your mind to be fair

You’re helping kids here, there and everywhere.

Be kind, online.

Just try to be kind on-line.