Category Archives: ontario school assemblies

Assemblies Motivate Students to Stand Up Against Bullying

Bullying – It takes hard work and determination to prevent bullying. Bullying Prevention starts with one word – RESPECT.

Treat others with respect and you will usually be treated with respect in return. But how do you know how to be respectful in the first place?

There are some basics to follow when it comes to respect:

Be honest. Tell the truth even if you are the only one who could possible know the difference. You see, honesty is part of who you are, deep down.
Be considerate. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Sometimes you really have to stop and think how you would feel if you were in the other person’s shoes. That’s called empathy.
Help others. That means, don’t just stand by and do nothing if someone is being treated badly. There are usually a few different things you can do to help like; speak up when the meanness is happening, talk to the person later and tell them you care, tell an adult you trust. Reaching out to offer your friendship is one of the greatest things you can do.

But what if you do these things and you still feel like you are being bullied? That’s a tough question. The fact is, this happens too many times. Hang in there. Realize things will get better. Change things in your life. Hang around different people. Spend time in different locations. Find people to be friends who really make you feel good and are not being mean, even in a teasing kind of way. Believe that things will improve and then go about changing things you can change. Like your attitude about life. That doesn’t mean the bullying is your fault. It just means if you start by changing what you can change in your life, sometimes good things will happen.

Maybe you sometimes bully other people. Make up your mind to stop doing that. It might not be easy, but you can do it. Keep reminding yourself that you want to change and use your determination. This really works for most people. You will find that your own life will improve if you stop being mean to others.

Most of all, don’t give up. Believe that things can be different and make the effort to make it happen. Be motivated by others. You can learn from them. Learn tips from assemblies or from people you admire. We can be inspired by others and learn how to improve our own lives. Who knows, you may end up inspiring others!

www.standupagainstbullying.com

York Region Bullying Prevention Assemblies and Parent Presentations

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Ontario’s Bullying Awareness and Prevention week will be recognized at Julliard Public Schooland Elder’s Mills Public School in York Region District School Board with guests from Stand Up Now Productions. Bruce Langford will be presenting Stand Up Against Bullying at Julliard and Stand Up For Respect at Elder’s Mills. He will also be guest speaker at a parent workshop at Elder’s Mills called ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’.

The focus will be on using common scenarios to teach what to do in specific bullying situations, whether you are a bystander, target, teacher or parent.

Stand Up Now Productions visited Julliard last year to present ‘Stand Up For Respect’ for students and a parent bullying information presentation. They have been invited back this year for a follow-up presentation.

Poplar Bank School in York Region Visited by Stand Up Now Productions

Here are some comments from York Region Schools:

“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)JulliardPublic School, Maple

“The role-plays really drove home the points about misrepresentation on the internet and I loved your songs as well. We were very pleased with the Stand Up Now assemblies at Coledale!”

Donna McGann (Principal) Coledale PS, Markham

“Bruce Langford tapped into the multiple intelligences with his dynamic, clear, engaging way of reaching the audience. This was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen at all the schools I’ve been at!”

Karen Monteith (Teacher) Coledale PS, Markham

“Bruce Langford’s parent/children ‘Stand Up – Keep Your Kids’ presentation is a wonderful program. I think that the entire audience will benefit from watching the show. It was very entertaining; it grabbed their attention and was filled with valuable information for all of us!”

David L. Tenn (Parent Council) William Berczy PS, Unionville

“That was fantastic! I was very impressed. You totally engaged the students! I loved your format with the gr 7 & 8’s. I would encourage any school to host Stand Up Now Productions bullying prevention programs.”

Mary Salvarinas (Principal)CoppardGlenPublic School,Markham

“I would recommend this performance to any other interested schools. Bruce Langford was fantastic and he delivered dynamic, energetic content which stimulated the interest of our students – even our intermediates!”

Ghada Sadaka (Vice Principal)BrownridgePublic School, Thornhill

Stand Up Now Productions has visited many York Region District School Board Schools including:

Sharon PS, Grey Owl PS, Nobleton PS, Sir Wilfrid Laurier PS, Lake Wilcox PS, Henderson Avenue PS, Redstone PS, Northern Lights PS, Poplar Bank PS, Red Maple PS and others.

Stand Up Now Productions would be pleased to visit your school.

www.standupnow.ca

Safe Schools Concert Assembly for Toronto Elementary Students

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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.
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.

Education Week Assemblies in Toronto Feature 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours

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Education Week at Madoc Drive Public School was celebrated today with bullying prevention assemblies by Bruce Langford of ‘Stand Up Now Productions’.
The students were filled with enthusiasm as DJ, Benny DL went live on ATFM Radio. He talked about 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours.

Ignore the Bullying Behaviour (sometimes the person is just trying to get attention)
Say ‘Please Leave Me Alone’ (Say it in a confident way, but only once)
Tell a Parent, Teacher or other Trusted Adult
Get Friends to Help You
Show your Confidence

Madoc students acted out real-life scenarios and participated in songs. A student came up afterwards commenting about the ‘great music and awesome video’. Madoc Principal, Mr. Tim Peterson makes sure students set exellent examples to inspire others. Education week is a great time to focus on bullying prevention. Just remember the 5 Key Strategies to Stop Bullying Behaviours.

http://www.standupagainstbullying.com/

Toronto School Assemblies to Stop Bullying Dead in its Tracks

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As adults, we are responsible for our children and youth. We must show by example how to stop bullying. We must refuse to allow bullying to rear its ugly head. It is necessary for us to understand exactly what bullying is, before we can snuff out its existence. Children also must understand what bullying is and the strategies they can use to stop it. These strategies are taught as part of ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ assemblies by Stand Up Now Productions.
Cyber-bullying has become a major problem in our society. Parents must show strength and courage in an attempt to lead children down the right path. A teacher recently commented: “The Stand Up Against Bullying assemblies need to be mandatory in every school, every year. Kids get the concepts through these programs; they just need to be reminded on a regular basis.”
Bruce Langford and Stand Up Now Productions recently visited Whitehorn Public School in Mississauga for the second time. Their head-on way to improve their school climate is impressive. Whitehorn Principal, Mrs. Margaret Patterson knows exactly how to get everyone on board to help stop bullying in its tracks. At her school, students and staff use the slogan ‘Soar To The Peak’ to motivate.

The word peak stands for:
Participation / Effort / Achievement / Kindness
We can all learn from this concentrated effort. Let’s ‘Soar To The Peak’ to reduce bullying!
www.standupnow.ca 1-800-901-8831

Safe At Schools Conference at Nobleton Senior Public School, Greater Toronto

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Stand Up Now featured Bruce Langford as the keynote presenter at Nobleton’s 4^th annual Safe At Schools Conference on Monday.

Principal, Ms. Nancy Redmond gave a warm welcome to the students to launch the day’s activities at Nobleton. The students from Nobleton Junior Public School were guests for the day as they participated in crafts, workshops and the ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ assemblies featuring student dramas, videos and student interaction.
The grade 6, 7 & 8 ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ presentation was geared directly to the intermediate level with stories and discussion which the students could relate to. It also included scenarios acted out by the students as well as life-like situations depicted in video clips.
Following the presentation, a number of intermediate students rushed to the front to find out more information from presenter, Bruce Langford.

A bullying prevention tip that was key in the presentation revolved around declaring Nobleton a bullying free zone by having the grade 6,7 & 8 students take a vow to ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’.

Tip: Resolve to take action when you see a bullying situation.

Nobleton Public School is a school where students definitely will take action as they ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’. We thank the students, administrators, and organizer, Ms. Deborah Godin, for a warm welcome to Nobleton and a truly rewarding day with your students!

5 Bullying Prevention Tips Offered at Lambton-Kent School Assemblies

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Bullying, respect and cyber-bullying assemblies were all theme driven assemblies we presented at Gregory Drive Public School in Chatham on Wednesday (Lambton-Kent District School Board – LKDSB). Bruce Langford was also guest speaker at the parent evening session designed for parents and children on internet safety, parenting and bullying. We were impressed with the audience size for a school of under 300 students!

There were 46 adults and children present to see videos, student role-plays and participate in a discussion on the topic of bullying.

Here are some valuable bullying prevention tips we offered in the various assemblies:

Beware of on-line polls where anonymous comments can be posted. Comments can be mean-spirited, hurtful and devastating.
Unplug your web-cam when you aren’t using it.
If someone is bullying you, speak up in a non-confrontational way.
Build a small group of supportive, trustable friends. You can help each other if necessary.
Don’t meet people you have met on-line as they may not be the person they said they were. Internet luring has become a big problem.

Principal, Ms. Lynn Sulman administers an impressive school. Her staff and students obviously work together to create an excellent, safe school environment making it an amazing Lambton-Kent school! Kudos to you, Ms. Sulman.

Ontario Kids Get Bullying Help at Kids Help Phone

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Our ‘Stand Up Now’ workshops encourage bullied children to talk to a trusted adult about feelings and issues. Express yourself and don’t keep frustration and hurt inside. Tell someone!

We also say, if you don’t have a trusted person to talk with, call ‘Kids Help Phone’ at 1-800-668-6868.
The Kids Help Phone website at http://www.kidshelpphone.ca/ helps you with topics like:

Bullying – Being bullied? Don’t keep it inside. Tell someone.
Violence & abuse
Feelings
The internet
Money
My Body
Friends
Dating
Express yourself – Your space to write letters, share stories, and get stuff off your chest.

The Kids Help Phone Promise is here:
“We are here to help you, not get you into trouble. When you call us, you don’t have to tell us your name, address or phone number.”

We encourage you to call Kids Help Phone if you need to talk about a bullying situation.
‘Stand Up Now’ School Programs www.standupagainstbullying.com

Anger Management and Bullying Prevention in Toronto Ontario

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We have presented workshops to hundreds of children in the greater Toronto area.
Here are some tips about anger:

Try to figure out why you are angry. Ask yourself questions to find out.
Try to leave the situation that is causing the anger. If you can’t, take ten deep breaths and let each one out slowly.
Wait before you do or say anything. If you say or do something in anger, you may be sorry later. You are responsible for your words and actions.
Get moving. Be active. Anger is often released by exercise and activity.
Write down your thoughts. Let them pour out. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar. Keep this to yourself until you have read it over and some time has passed. Things may seem different by that time.
If you still feel angry, find a trusted adult to talk to. Share your thoughts and listen to the adult’s advice. If you don’t know who to talk to, call Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868.
Anger can cause bullying. Anger can cause people to be bullied. We all have anger at times. Try to deal with your anger without being mean to others. Bruce Langford presents workshops on bullying prevention to help with relationship issues.