CRANBERRY TWP — Haine Middle School kicked off its annual anti-bullying program with some special guests.

The StrandTastics, a youth show choir, performed a show developed specifically to show the effects of bullying and to empower adolescents.

The show on Sept. 29 kicked off the Olweus Bullying Prevention program.

Haine hosts an event at the beginning of each year to launch the Olweus program to create a “positive and inclusive school environment that students take ownership throughout the school year,” said Cassandra Doggrell, Haine Middle School principal.

“The beginning of the year event shapes our school community and reinforces the expectation that all students and staff are dedicated to preventing bullying and being responsive when bullying occurs,” Doggrell said.

The StrandTastics were brought in to deliver a relatable message to their peers, Doggrell said.

Mary Ann Mangini, StrandTastics director, wrote and directed a show titled, “You are Worth It.”

The Olweus Bully Prevention program helps students know how to respond when someone is being bullied and how to prevent bullying, said Jeffrey Roberts, district supervisor of gifted education and student services.

Students participate in weekly class meetings with their teachers to practice kindness and develop their class community, he said.

Sometimes they role play about what to do in a bullying situation, and other times they focus on working together as a group.

The program has been working at reducing bullying in Seneca Valley schools, Roberts said. Each year the students take a brief survey so teachers and principals can track progress.

Roberts said direct bullying like pushing and shoving have decreased although there has been an uptick in indirect bullying, primarily associated with students' use of texting and social media. As a result, Roberts said educators are adapting class meetings to focus on online behavior.

The Olweus program is used throughout the Seneca Valley School District, and older students are seeing its importance, Roberts said.

“As an example, our middle and high school students volunteer to spend a day in the elementary school cafeterias,” Roberts said.

“The high school students model for the younger students how to be kind to one another at the lunch table.”