Choose Kindness

On September 29, T.H.E. kicked off our Choose Kindness campaign. October is National Bully Prevention month and what better way to prevent bullying than showing extra kindness to those around us! Students in all grade levels met in the library to learn about kindness. At the end of the lesson, students took the kindness pledge. Thanks to some awesome parent volunteers, we were able to hang our Kindness Banners around school.

On Friday, October 13 students met in the library to discuss bullying and how kindness is really the best prevention. Counselors reviewed the different types of bullying, what it means to be an upstander, and how to stop or prevent bullying at Tuscany. Listed below are a few of the other activities that will take place this month. We plan to incorporate kindness into all of our guidance lessons this year. We want to encourage our student to use kindness everyday all year- not just in October

• Mrs. Johnson, our school librarian, has encouraged a school wide read experts from "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio. Wonder is an award winning book about a 10 year old boy with a facial deformity who enters 5th grade for the first time.
  
• In art classes, students will paint Kindness Rocks. If you have not yet heard of the kindness rock movement, please check out the link. It's is a fun and easy way to spread a little kindness! http://thekindnessrocksproject.com/
• All teachers and staff were completed the kindness pledge and painted an Kindness rock on October 18.
• Mrs. Johnson has created Kindness Certificates to be given out to students who are seen showing kindness to others.

Bullying means a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power and involves engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct. Bullying includes cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Bullying creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment.

When discussing bullying, it is very important for parents, students and teachers to understand what bullying is not. In many instances a single act may be insensitive or mean behavior but is not considered bullying. During our guidance lessons on OCtober 13, students were taught the definition of bullying. They were also taught that a single mean moment, unfair situation or argument is probably not bullying.

Some people think that bullying is any aggressive behavior or insensitive remark. Although this behavior is unacceptable and needs to be addressed, it is important to make the distinction from bullying.

As a parent, it is important that you pay attention to what your kids are telling you and find out if things are happening more than once. Ask questions like:

Was this a mean moment or has it happened more than once?

Have you asked the student to stop?

Have you told an adult at school that this is happening?

Heidi Staples and Jana Sensat

Email: hstapl@neisd.net
Phone: 210-407-8225