Olweus Bullying Program

1. Olweus Bullying Program OMS 2010 * Information taken from parent pamphlet created by Brent Dugan for OMS.

2. The foundation of the anti-bullying program at OMS is based on the research of Dr. Dan Olweus. This program was introduced to students and is now in place at OMS.

3. What We Can Do: Individual Action: • Persist in reaching out to others. • Do not take advantage of anyone who is weaker than you. • Include others who are easily overlooked. • Protect those who are being bullied.

4. What We Can Do Parent Action: • Nurture an environment of warmth and positive involvement. Communicate your care and love through words, behavior, and time commitment. • Set clear behavioral standards and consistently enforce those standards. Bullying should be directly addressed and children should know that parents will not tolerate it. • Avoid power-assertive discipline methods, such as physical punishment and violent emotional outbursts.

5. What We Can Do Classroom Action: • Establish clear and firm rules against bullying. • Provide ongoing praise to all students for their positive contribution to the class. • Engineer roles for potential victims to demonstrate their value among peers. • Teach all students how to work within rules to satisfy their emotional and social needs.

6. What We Can Do System-Wide Action • Provide adequate supervision of students throughout the school day and throughout the school facilities. • Intervene consistently in bullying situations by speaking with all students involved: the student who is bullying, the student being bullied, bystanders and parents. • Replace the negative forces that contribute to the bullying with positive forces that promote cohesion, inclusion, and compassion.

7. What We Know About Bullying Bullying has three parts. First, it is an aggressive behavior involving unwanted, negative actions. Second, it involves a pattern of mistreatment that is repeated over time. Third, there is an imbalance of power, where a stronger individual targets someone who is weaker (physically, socially, etc.)

8. What We Know About Bullying Bullies become victims of their own bad decisions. Bullies can be characterized as more popular than the average student during primary grades. They often have a core group of loyal friends who support what they are doing. As they move into early high school grades, their popularity declines and their core group of friends shrinks.

9. Parenting A Bully 1st- Make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated. 2nd- Inventory the home environment: then work together with the child to agree on a few, simple family rules. 3rd- Express appreciation and praise for the child as they show progress in following the family rules. 4th- If rules are broken, consistently enforce consequences. 5th- Help the child fulfill their emotional and social needs in constructive ways. 6th- Seek to spend more time with your child and his/her friends.

10. What Roles Do Students Play In Bullying Situations?

11. School Rules about Bullying • We will not bully others. • We will try to help students who are bullied. • We will try to include students who are left out. • If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.