Schools take aim at bullying
BUTLER TWP — Wednesday afternoon, Donna Friel's classroom at Meridian Elementary School looked like it was filled with children who were socializing while they worked, an unusual combination.
The children chatted, laughed and conferenced while they colored. They chose among Thanksgiving-themed decorations and drew together in groups of two or three, spread out on the carpet.
But this get-together of Friel's second grade and Christina Kelly's fifth grade classes had a dual purpose. The children were developing an anti-bullying buddy system while they decorated brown bags and created place mats for homebound senior citizens, to help them celebrate Thanksgiving.
Principal Tim Sisinni and the school's teachers hope that by getting to know each other the younger children will be able to rely on the older ones if trouble erupts when no adult is present. Bullying often occurs out of earshot of adults, on school buses, playgrounds, in cafeterias, or in bathrooms.
All of the Butler School District's children have weekly lessons about bullying and are taught to tell an adult when it occurs, Sisinni said. Sisinni is a national trainer for the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program used in the district.
“Part of our job as educators is to make sure kids get along,” Sisinni said.
“Bullying is repeated behavior,” he said. “Kids have disagreements all the time. One disagreement is not bullying. But when behavior is hurtful and repeated, that's bullying.”
Sisinni also follows up with victims to see if the offending behavior has stopped.
In Kelly's classroom Wednesday, Dillon Sapar and Jada Pinto, two second graders, worked on a place mat with Jadyn Noullet, who's in fifth grade.
“Sometimes I see other kids get bullied on the playground,” said Dillon. “I tell a teacher or a principal.”
Fifth-grader Preston McCardle worked at a table with classmate Jacob Maihle and Camden Baker, a second grader. Jacob and Camden know each other from day care.
“I really like it (buddy classrooms),” Preston said. “It helps bring friends together.”
Hope Shearer, a fifth grade student, worked with Cheyenne Orantes, from the second grade.
“We get to play with the little ones,” said Hope, who transferred to Meridian from Emily Brittain.
“It doesn't really matter what school you're at, it still happens,” she said.
Hope said she would tell an adult or try to help a student being bullied.
The buddy classes meet once a month throughout the school year and engage in craft projects, sing-a-longs and sports.
This is the second year for the buddy program, which was developed by the school's Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee.
The committee includes teachers from kindergarten through sixth grade and is duplicated in each of the district's 11 elementary schools.
