Facts and Myths about Bullying TRUE OR FALSE 1. Very few students are bullied. * FALSE: A nationally represented U.S. study showed that 17% of all students reported having been bullied sometime within a school term. That is almost 1 in 5 students. 2.Most bullying is physical in nature.

*FALSE: While physical bullying is relatively common among boys in lower grades, other forms of bullying, particularly verbal, are more common among boys and girls across all grade levels. 3. Only boys bully. *FALSE: Boys are more likely than girls to bully, but this does not mean girls don’t bully or that it is not harmful. While boys bully both boys and girls, girls tend to bully other girls, typically using more indirect forms of bullying.

Effects of Being Bullied Lower self esteem Depression and anxiety Absenteeism and lowered school achievement Thoughts of suicide Illness

OLWEUS Bully Prevention Program

Concerns about Children Who Bully Children who bully are more likely to: Get into frequent fights Steal and/or vandalize Drink alcohol and/or smoke Be truant and/or drop out of school Report poorer academic achievement Have negative feelings about school Carry a weapon

Morris Area Schools

Effects of Bullying on Bystanders Bystanders may feel: Afraid Powerless to change situation Guilty for not acting Diminished empathy for victim over time.

320-589-1250 Elementary 320-589-4400 High School www.morris.k12.mn.us

OLWEUS Definition Of Bullying “Bullying is when someone repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean or hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending him or herself.”

Morris Area School’s Anti-bullying Rules 1. We will not bully others. 2. We will try to help students who are being bullied.

Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength. The person being bullied may:

3. We will try to include students who are left out.

Actually be physically weaker

4. If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

Perceive him/herself as physically or emotionally weaker

Committee Members

To reduce existing bullying problems among our students To prevent the development of new bullying problems To achieve better peer relations at school To continue a healthy learning environment and maintain a safe school climate for all students

We encourage all students, staff, parents, and volunteers to report bullying encounters to a Morris Area Schools Staff member. The incident will then be recorded onto a bullying referral form and given to a supervisor. That supervisor will then follow through with the principal and/or parent contact.

On The Spot Interventions

Have several students “gang-up” on him/her

The Goals of the OBPP

Reporting Procedure

The committee is comprised of staff, faculty, parents, and community members. Mary Asche Chelsea Bell Kilomarie Dunn Mark Ekren Ken Gagner Kayla Erdahl Kyle Berget Nick Milbrandt Sharon Martin

Shelly Messner Scott Monson Tim Cannon Kevin Pope Tammy Roth Heidi Suess Barb Wilts Cork Loge Anita Liebl

1. Stop the Bullying 2. Support the Student who has been bullied 3. Name the bullying behavior and refer to school rules 4. Engage the bystanders 5. Impose consequences 6. Take steps to ensure the bullied student will be protected from future bullying