When: October 7th
Time: 12:00
Place: White School
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Death by Bullying-article from Teaching Tolerance
After hearing about an incident at one of my schools today, I found this email in my inbox. I felt that I needed to share it all with you. ~Paula
Death by Bullying
April 13, 2009 — Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself last week, after enduring months of threats, harassment and anti-gay slurs. He would have turned 12 this Friday.
by Tim Lockette
Mom says Springfield boy, 11, who committed suicide was repeatedly bullied at school
Carl Walker-Hoover played football and basketball, and was active in the Boy Scouts. But none of that protected him from the bullying he faced when he started sixth grade at New Leadership Charter School.
Since early September, his mother says, Carl reported that other kids at school were harassing him. They told him he acted like a girl. They made fun of the way he dressed. They said he was gay, and they made it clear that gay people were not welcome in their midst. Carl did not identify as gay, but that just didn't seem to matter to his tormentors.
Last week Carl's mother found her son hanging by an extension cord, dead. Sirdeaner Walker says her son couldn't stand another day of bullying in school.
Why did this tragedy not make national headlines? Is it because anti-gay bullying is so common? (According to one report, 33 percent of children report being harassed because they are perceived by their peers to be gay.) Is it because we believe children should fend for themselves? (One third of teachers admit they have seen anti-gay bullying and have not intervened.) Is it because this kind of tragedy happens so often? (This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school-aged child linked to bullying this year.)
Friday would have been Carl Walker-Hoover's 12th birthday. April 17 is also the date of the 13th annual Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). It is a day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT students and their allies. Teaching Tolerance is joining GLSEN in urging students across America participate in the Day of Silence in honor of Carl Walker-Hoover.
Professional Development Questions for Teachers
When was the last time you saw anti-gay harassment in your classroom? Did you intervene? If not, why not?
Does your school's policy on harassment include harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation? Does it include gender identity or gender presentation? What effect can policy — or the lack of it — have on the classroom experiences of students?
Does your school have a Gay-Straight Alliance or other support group for GLBT students and their allies?
If a student in your school experienced anti-gay harassment, who — if anyone — would that child approach for help? How would a student go about speaking to this person?
Who are the advocates, in your community, for acceptance for GLBT and gender non-conforming community members?
Resources
Day of SilenceOn Friday, hundreds of thousands of students will call attention to anti-gay harassment in schools. Join them.
The ABCs of Sexual OrientationA simple guide to the things teachers can do to create a welcoming environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students.
Four Steps Schools Can Take to End Bullying and HarassmentFour things school leaders can do to make sure they're doing their part to stop anti-gay bullying.
StraightlacedA new film highlights the ways homophobia and gender stereotyping lock us all into roles we don't really want to fill.
Death by Bullying
April 13, 2009 — Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself last week, after enduring months of threats, harassment and anti-gay slurs. He would have turned 12 this Friday.
by Tim Lockette
Mom says Springfield boy, 11, who committed suicide was repeatedly bullied at school
Carl Walker-Hoover played football and basketball, and was active in the Boy Scouts. But none of that protected him from the bullying he faced when he started sixth grade at New Leadership Charter School.
Since early September, his mother says, Carl reported that other kids at school were harassing him. They told him he acted like a girl. They made fun of the way he dressed. They said he was gay, and they made it clear that gay people were not welcome in their midst. Carl did not identify as gay, but that just didn't seem to matter to his tormentors.
Last week Carl's mother found her son hanging by an extension cord, dead. Sirdeaner Walker says her son couldn't stand another day of bullying in school.
Why did this tragedy not make national headlines? Is it because anti-gay bullying is so common? (According to one report, 33 percent of children report being harassed because they are perceived by their peers to be gay.) Is it because we believe children should fend for themselves? (One third of teachers admit they have seen anti-gay bullying and have not intervened.) Is it because this kind of tragedy happens so often? (This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school-aged child linked to bullying this year.)
Friday would have been Carl Walker-Hoover's 12th birthday. April 17 is also the date of the 13th annual Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). It is a day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT students and their allies. Teaching Tolerance is joining GLSEN in urging students across America participate in the Day of Silence in honor of Carl Walker-Hoover.
Professional Development Questions for Teachers
When was the last time you saw anti-gay harassment in your classroom? Did you intervene? If not, why not?
Does your school's policy on harassment include harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation? Does it include gender identity or gender presentation? What effect can policy — or the lack of it — have on the classroom experiences of students?
Does your school have a Gay-Straight Alliance or other support group for GLBT students and their allies?
If a student in your school experienced anti-gay harassment, who — if anyone — would that child approach for help? How would a student go about speaking to this person?
Who are the advocates, in your community, for acceptance for GLBT and gender non-conforming community members?
Resources
Day of SilenceOn Friday, hundreds of thousands of students will call attention to anti-gay harassment in schools. Join them.
The ABCs of Sexual OrientationA simple guide to the things teachers can do to create a welcoming environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students.
Four Steps Schools Can Take to End Bullying and HarassmentFour things school leaders can do to make sure they're doing their part to stop anti-gay bullying.
StraightlacedA new film highlights the ways homophobia and gender stereotyping lock us all into roles we don't really want to fill.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Nominations
If anyone else would like to nominate someone for an office within our counselors organization please let me know- I will take nominations up to 8:00 a.m. Next Thursday. I will have to cut it off then to make ballot forms. If you do not want to email me with your nomination- then place it in the board mail.
Thanks Monique
Thanks Monique
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Cinderella Project
Hospice Care (a nonprofit agency)
DATE: February 20, 2009
CONTACT: Kim Mitchell
TOPIC: Cinderella Project
The Cinderella Project is a community outreach program for young ladies sponsored by Hospice Care. Prom dresses, shoes and accessories are to be sold to local high school girls who want to go to the prom, but may not be able to afford it. The dresses will be sold for as little as $5.00 (usually no more than $20.00).
The Cinderella Project Fashion show and sale will be on Saturday, April 4th at the Middletown Mall. The fashion show will begin at 1 pm with the sale immediately following.
Hospice Care is looking for models from Marion County’s high schools to participate in the fashion show. Please call Kim Mitchell at 304-212-8345 to refer students to model the dresses. Hair stylists and make up artists will be provided to help get the young ladies ready for the show. Models will be able to purchase the dress they wear for just $5.00, so please approach your students who may have the greatest need.
If anyone has prom dresses, shoes and accessories they would like to donate, please contact Kim Riley at Hospice Care (304-864-0884 / 1-800-350-1161) or drop off donations at the Fairmont Hospice Care Office, 1406 Country Club Road. Donations of door prizes are also welcome for the attendees.
Call Hospice Care 304-864-0884 /1-800-350-1161 for more information.
DATE: February 20, 2009
CONTACT: Kim Mitchell
TOPIC: Cinderella Project
The Cinderella Project is a community outreach program for young ladies sponsored by Hospice Care. Prom dresses, shoes and accessories are to be sold to local high school girls who want to go to the prom, but may not be able to afford it. The dresses will be sold for as little as $5.00 (usually no more than $20.00).
The Cinderella Project Fashion show and sale will be on Saturday, April 4th at the Middletown Mall. The fashion show will begin at 1 pm with the sale immediately following.
Hospice Care is looking for models from Marion County’s high schools to participate in the fashion show. Please call Kim Mitchell at 304-212-8345 to refer students to model the dresses. Hair stylists and make up artists will be provided to help get the young ladies ready for the show. Models will be able to purchase the dress they wear for just $5.00, so please approach your students who may have the greatest need.
If anyone has prom dresses, shoes and accessories they would like to donate, please contact Kim Riley at Hospice Care (304-864-0884 / 1-800-350-1161) or drop off donations at the Fairmont Hospice Care Office, 1406 Country Club Road. Donations of door prizes are also welcome for the attendees.
Call Hospice Care 304-864-0884 /1-800-350-1161 for more information.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ideas for Teachers
From Lisa
1. Writing: 10 reasons not to call names
2. Writing: share what names you were called and how you felt/ what names you have called and how it affected the other person.
3. Graffiti wall of kind words for your classroom
4. Readings: "Misfits"; "Prime Lesson", by Carl Sanburg; "A Word", by Emily Dickinson
5. Home work assignment to listen to things being said in the hall and then write a story or a poem about what is heard.
1. Writing: 10 reasons not to call names
2. Writing: share what names you were called and how you felt/ what names you have called and how it affected the other person.
3. Graffiti wall of kind words for your classroom
4. Readings: "Misfits"; "Prime Lesson", by Carl Sanburg; "A Word", by Emily Dickinson
5. Home work assignment to listen to things being said in the hall and then write a story or a poem about what is heard.
More Ideas
From Debbie:
Monongah Middle School will be participating next week in the following ways.
Peer Mediators have worked on a bulletin board in our cafeteria to kick off the week and make students and staff aware of what we are targeting as a goal in promoting this week. Also they have worked on posters to display.
Developmental Guidance lessons will be taught to the 5th and 6th grade students on Bullying and the subject of not calling others names and it's affect on their peers. They have also been working on posters, writing slogans, poems, or short writings on this subject. These will be displayed in the hall ways during the week.
I am hoping to show the film "Stop Picking On Me" as a school assembly in the auditorium or cafeteria, and follow-up with a short discussion on how to cope and strategies that work when dealing with bullies.
I am also going to start by the end of this week with daily announcements to kick off the week and prepare the students and staff for the upcoming week's activities.
Our school librarian has agreed to be involved in the media center by book displays and class activities that are representative of this topic. I intend to go into her classes and join with her in "readings" to the students about "NO Name-Calling and it's effects on others.
From Monique:
One idea I think I am using at the Elementary school in Fairview is a Compliment Car Wash- The students are lined up in 2 rows facing each other- each student takes turns walking through the "car wash" and gets positive comments made to them by their classmates.
Monongah Middle School will be participating next week in the following ways.
Peer Mediators have worked on a bulletin board in our cafeteria to kick off the week and make students and staff aware of what we are targeting as a goal in promoting this week. Also they have worked on posters to display.
Developmental Guidance lessons will be taught to the 5th and 6th grade students on Bullying and the subject of not calling others names and it's affect on their peers. They have also been working on posters, writing slogans, poems, or short writings on this subject. These will be displayed in the hall ways during the week.
I am hoping to show the film "Stop Picking On Me" as a school assembly in the auditorium or cafeteria, and follow-up with a short discussion on how to cope and strategies that work when dealing with bullies.
I am also going to start by the end of this week with daily announcements to kick off the week and prepare the students and staff for the upcoming week's activities.
Our school librarian has agreed to be involved in the media center by book displays and class activities that are representative of this topic. I intend to go into her classes and join with her in "readings" to the students about "NO Name-Calling and it's effects on others.
From Monique:
One idea I think I am using at the Elementary school in Fairview is a Compliment Car Wash- The students are lined up in 2 rows facing each other- each student takes turns walking through the "car wash" and gets positive comments made to them by their classmates.
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