yrdsb | Stand Up Now

Richmond Rose Public School was our destination yesterday as we set out to present three bullying prevention assemblies.

Principal, Mr. Rick Rosemin and Vice-Principal Ms. Heather Levitt have obviously worked hard to set the tone for their continuing anti-bullying initiative. They both appeared before the students in each of the three assemblies and talked about the importance of bullying prevention. They played a game with the students as part of identifying the difference between bullying situations and non-bullying situations. They made it clear to the students that respect comes first at Richmond Rose School.

The mission of Richmond Rose P.S. is “Learning and Growing Together”. In 2005, students and staff created the Richmond Rose Touchstone to support everything we do. The following is the Richmond Rose Touchstone:

At Richmond Rose, we take responsibility for our work, words and actions.
We put in our best efforts, enjoy our successes, and learn from our mistakes.
We embrace each other’s differences and care for each other’s feelings.
We think before we speak and use words that are appropriate for school.
Our community is a safe community; a place where we treat people with kindness, respect and dignity
No one is afraid at our school.
At Richmond Rose, we are free to succeed!

Students were very engaged by the messages delivered in our assemblies. It was obvious that Mr. Rosemin and Ms. Levitt as well as the rest of the staff have made an impression on the students regarding acceptable behaviours and what constitutes bullying.

Students approached me after the junior and intermediate assemblies and asked questions how they could learn even more about bullying prevention and growing respect levels.

Children in the primary assembly were heard singing Bruce Langford’s bullying prevention theme song “Stand Up” as they played at recess.

Richmond Rose Public School sets a fine example of how schools can help students in a meaningful way to learn how to respect each other more. We extend a sincere thanks to Mr. Rosemin and Ms. Levitt and all the staff and students for allowing us to be part of their student survey driven Anti-Bullying assemblies.

Stand Up Now Productions presents their ‘Stand Up Against Bullying’ Assemblies to students of all ages.
www.standupnow.ca

We spent the day today with the students at Redstone Public School in Greater Toronto (Richmond Hill). We talked about the character trait of the month, which for January is optimism. We talked about bullying, the bystander, and how to deal with real-life bullying situations. The students learned by watching scenarios acted out by grade 7 and 8 students. We watched videos and listened to music. The students clapped and cheered at appropriate times and then later were silent when someone was left out of a game during a role-play. The students had empathy for that one person not picked for the team.

Obviously, the teachers and students care about the right things at Redstone School. They care about treating each other with respect and dignity. The Redstone Creed is called their Touchstone. Read it here. What do you think?

The Redstone Public School Touchstone
At Redstone Public School, we respect ourselves, others and our environment. We are responsible for what we say and what we do. We speak up for ourselves, and others and and we include everyone in all activities.
We treat all people equally and we help others without being asked. We never give up, no matter how difficult the task. At Redstone, everything is possible.
Optimism Quotes:
Optimism is the tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view.
Oxford English Dictionary