Community comes together for anti-bullying rally Over 75 students gathered at Northwoods Park Middle School Sept. 27 to participate in a Bullying Ain’t Cool Youth Rally; organized to encourage youth to open up about bulling and to provide them with the opportunity to join in interactive sessions with their peers in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. The rally, in its sixth year, is a collaboration of InsideOut, co-founded by Deborah Hoffman, the assistant principal at Northwoods Park Middle School and Gail Gatewood, USMC CWO3, ret., founder of Know You, Be You, Do You (KBDY) which is similar in nature to InsideOut. Both programs target at-risk kids and offer guidance to empower youth and their families. InsideOut was established while Hoffman was the assistant principal at Northwoods Park Elementary School four years ago. She is now bringing the program to Northwoods Park Middle School. These organizations reward positive behaviors as a means bring about changes in attitude. InsideOut also utilizes field trips, including visits to universities, to help students get back on the right track and lead them toward envisioning bright futures. Hoffman said there are many reasons why bullying occurs. A child may have deficits when it comes to social skills — they have never learned “appropriate behaviors” for social settings/situations when they have to interact or cope with others. Some children take their own insecurities out on others because they lack self-esteem. Others have not learned proper anger-management skills, so they do not know how to channel their frustrations. Hoffman wanted the rally to draw students, parents, community members and organizations together from around the district, not just the Northwoods area. In raising awareness, Hoffman believes it is much more powerful and effective to have the kids leading discussions about the issues they face and finding solutions to effect constructive changes. Special guests included Hoffman’s son, Derrick White, and JoceLien Danee, a music recording artist. They spoke about their own experiences with bullying and how they coped and overcame. Students engaged in various activities, age appropriate sessions on topics including bullying, cyber bullying, digital citizenship, healthy relationships and goal setting. Groups also created and produced their own videos about bullying. There were also opportunities for parents to participate in roundtable discussions. Hoffman said the rally was a resounding success; the volunteers, students and all involved had a ball, and at the same time, spread the word that bullying ain’t cool.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:27:40 +0000