MSA puts entire student body through anti-bullying seminar
By Nadia Arandjelovic
Students at Mount Saint Agnes Academy have seen their attitudes over bullying transformed after taking part in a unique anti-bully programme.
Administered by overseas professionals Lisa Dixon-Wells and Dwayne Peace, students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 took part in a programme last week to help give them a better understanding of why people bully, intimidate and harass and what can be done to stop it.
Shane Antonition,15, told The Royal Gazette: "I was one of those people that was being bullied throughout all of elementary, moving into middle school, and for me I wouldn't really know why they were doing it. But now with this experience two things have really happened, one I have learnt some of the stories of people who have been bullying me, maybe why they may have been doing it, and it also showed other people how I was feeling."
He now feels ten times better and really looks forward to going to school. "It really changed things for the better," he added.
According to MSA Principal Sue Moench, the school had the occasional bullying problem, just like most other institutions on the Island and wanted to address rather than ignore it.
She said: "You know schools are microcosms of society and so every school, every business, has a certain percentage of people that want to be in control, in power. (The programme) has been an educational process, it's all part of what we would like to do to equip and empower our students to respond appropriately in the given situation, and not escalate it, but to deal with it.
"We did this last year and it is an ongoing process.
"It's never the silver bullet that is going to solve all your problems but we are going to stay with it and make it a consistent part of the practice."
The programme, known as 'Dare to Care', taught the rest of the student body including Martin Finegan, 17, Tevin Darrell, 17, Ashlee Brady Kelly, 17, Casey Castle, 18, Ryan Sousa, 16, Akira McDonald, 16, Holly DeSilva, 15, Sierrah Raynor, 16, and Leanna Moniz, 15 as well as staff and some parents an important lesson in compassion.
Children from Kindergarten to Grade 5 learnt how to deal with bullying situations; whether they be in the home, playground or classroom, and how to get attention brought to the situation.
Grades 6 to 11 took part in group activities and discussions teaching them about the damages of bullying and cliques.
The senior class learnt how to build trust and more honest relationships and how to deal with conflicts when they arise.
Fifteen percent of people fall within the "victim" category, approximately two percent are the real bullies; with another four to five percent feeling obliged to join in with the teasing.
The remainder fall into a category known as the "silent majority" this is the group Mrs. Moench said need to be empowered enough to say "we are not going to take this anymore" and notify a parent when something is going on.
Martin Finegan a 12th Grade student at MSA, admits he was a bully out of immaturity and desire to look "cool" but has learnt to empathise with what a victim could be feeling.
Mr. Finegan said: "Doing this programme made me realise it is not worth it to put other people down, you never really know how people are going to take it and how they are going to act or react. You never really know that everyone has a story, you never really know what everyone is going through."
Brady Kelly said it taught her class a lot about each other and encouraged them to take part in more deep and honest communication. They also learnt that sometimes it isn't the big things that constitute bullying, but the smaller things like name calling. "Those are what people tend to carry around with them for the longest," she said.
The anti-bullying sessions taught students like Miss Raynor how to put herself in another person's shoes.
She explained: "I learnt that everyone has a story and a lot of times we want to tease or bully someone, but we don't know what they are going through at home. Some people come (to school) with a brave face on, but they are going through things you wouldn't even think that somebody 15, 16 or 17 should be going through on a daily basis.
"So I am just learning and remembering that my words do impact people, so if I don't have anything positive to say it would be best it I don't say anything."
According to Mr. Sousa, the programme should be implemented in institutions across the Island.
He said: "If all the schools do it, it will change the way we treat everyone in Bermuda because really we are the next generation so if we treat everyone with respect hopefully the next generation will notice it and also do it to."
Miss McDonald added: "If everyone gets the same knowledge as us, and everyone comes together, then Bermuda will be changed."
