New Parent Link program will help Chester Ronning students by providing options and alternative techniques

Pilot project designed to stop bullying

According to the National Association of School Psychologists, five million children across Canada have been either a bully or victim — that’s one in every seven, and with such startling statistics, the Alberta government has been working to make schools safe from intimidation.
In fact, child and youth care expert Jennifer Hastings recently arrived in Camrose to take the helm of the Parent Link Centre pilot project, Taking Action on Bullying — a government funded initiative that aims to provide children, parents, and the community in general with the knowledge of how to prevent and mitigate bullying.
The pilot project is hosted by the Camrose and District Support Services (CDSS).

Goal
“The aims of the anti-bullying project are to provide information and hands on practice for children and their parents on how to deal with bullying... helping to teach kids how to react in situations on the playground, at lunch and during breaks, and will include classroom workshops and one on one consultations,” said Hastings.
The pilot project will take place at Chester Ronning School, with Hastings assisting students three days a week. “I’ll be there as a resource for teachers, to provide them with alternative techniques, and I’ll be there for the parents as well,” said Hastings. “I will make myself available for consultation, giving parents information and strategies, while also referring them to other community resources.”
In the classroom, Hastings will incorporate role-playing scenarios to bestow students with the necessary skills to not only avoid confrontational situations, but to learn how to conduct themselves in threatening circumstances.
“By role-playing a student will practice responses in a confrontational situation, and this will help build their confidence, while also helping them to understand different points of view ... The person bullying often doesn’t understand how much they are hurting somebody else,” said Hastings.

John King
28 August 2005

http://www.camrosecanadian.com/story.php?id=181125

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