Anti-Bullying Program to Kick Off in Schools

A new anti-bullying program - Olweus Bullying Prevention Program - gets started in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District in the next few weeks.

The Olweus program is a proactive approach that focuses on awareness, identification, and prevention of bullying, according to a notice sent to parents last week.

The program started in the district back in August, when school teams were trained and then, in turn, trained teachers in each school, said Celeste Bowler, assistant superintendent for learning. Now, in he next few weeks each school will take part in various “kickoff” events and there will be evening programs for  parents.

In October, the district also conducted a survey to establish a baseline mark to measure the success of the program, Bowler said. Next year, the data from a similar survey can be used to measure the impact of the program, she said.

The “kickoff” for the three elementary schools will be held during the week of Jan. 14. On Monday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. all three elementary schools will host a parent information session at Buker Elementary School. Parents will learn about the Olweus program, data collected from the student survey in October and the rules that will be introduced to students.

Miles River Middle School’s student “kickoff” will also happen during the week of Jan. 14. Teachers are creating Podcasts about the program that will be posted on the school website to tell parents about the program.

Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School’s student “kickoff” will be during the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 8. Plans are still being finalied for the specifics of that event.