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Service Learning
Posted: 5/22/2013
Dear PACER Organization,
My name is Anthony and my group members are Jonathan, Jacy, and Joel. My group and I feel that bullying is a very important issue to be dealing with and we feel that it should be stopped.
We feel that this issue is hurting many students who are bullied and it only motivates the bully to keep bullying. My group and I are presenting these ideas to your organization because we feel that you guys should be aware of what we are doing to raise awareness for this issue. This way it is not continued by any further people yet it becomes an important idea to people that young children should not be bullied. My group and I are against the idea of young children being bullied. We are trying to raise awareness to stop this issue so it is not continued by anyone who has the motive to bully a young child.
We presented a speech to our School Safety Committee and developed ideas to address the issue. We thought a symbol such as a shield can be used and we can split the shield into four to have students fill in each section. These sections can include the definition of bullying, an example of how to handle a bully, etc.
Also, we love the idea of a pledge to take or sign. It could be similar to a school bill of rights or Constitution.
Lastly, our school has thought of an idea of having students create a brick to be placed throughout the hallways as a reminder of how to treat others not only in school but of school.
Sincerely,
Anthony
By: Anthony
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PACER's Champion Against Bullying - La Mesa Junior High School
Posted: 5/22/2013
We are one of the schools that has been a Champion school through PACER for the last several years. We are continuing to expand our bully prevention program and do our part to keep this school safe. We have many programs that are designed to contribute to our message "it is far better to be a buddy than a bully!"
By: Steve at La Mesa Junior High School in California
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LOOK AT ME NOW - Bernadette Kathryn
Posted: 5/21/2013
I'm Bernadette Kathryn and I'm 13 years old. I was bullied in school about my music. I was bullied verbally and physically to the point I didn't have any friends, I didn't want to go to school, and I didn't want to sing. Sing! The part of my life that gave me so much joy. It hurt. It Hurt A Lot! I cried. I Cried A Lot! With the help of my friend, producer, and co-writer Greg Stryker, we were able to get this song down on paper.
This song is dedicated to everyone that has ever been bullied!
You are not alone! Together we can stand up and make a difference!
By: Bernadette Kathryn
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Glenwood MS “Midnight Madness” Event—Family Fun To Build Community and Raise Funds!
Posted: 5/20/2013
Midnight Madness is the biggest school event of the year and almost all of the students at Glenwood Middle School participate! The teachers, student's parents and custodial staff volunteer their time to make this fundraiser event possible. A huge portion of the community, the students' immediate family, comes to Glenwood Middle School to help support the fundraiser and to be involved in the fun! There are student basketball games going on all afternoon and into night, silent auctions, head shaving (where money is donated to a previous student's Relay for Life Team), plenty of food and smoothies to buy, faces painting and so much more!
One of our biggest events is the Team USA and Team America basketball games. These games are adapted for those students who may need some changes, such as wheel chairs or a different kind of basketball hoop, in the game to be successful. Our adapted PE teacher organizes these teams of students to work with and support our students that need adapted physical education. The energy is amazing at this event and there is always a strong feeling of community support and excitement.
Midnight Madness raises money for different organizations every year, as the students play in basketball games until midnight on the day of the after-school portion of Midnight Madness. This year we decided the theme should be "Stand Up, Don't Stand By", which brought us to the decision to have the major portion of our fundraiser raise money for PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center!
The guidance counselors gave seminars to all of the students in the school about bullying and how others should be treated, which is a big focus in our school. During this in-class session the counselors took pictures of every student holding a sign, which they made, that said what they would do if they saw someone being bullied. These pictures were played in a slide show at the front of the school during Midnight Madness, and they were also hung all along the hallways near the gym and cafeteria.
Some students wrote things like "I will change the subject" or "I will stand up for the victim". The school and community always comes together to put on an amazing Midnight Madness event each year, and this year we were very excited to have a strong focus on the serious problem of bullying.
We hope that this focus has impacted our students to stand up against bullying.
By: Glenwood Middle School
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mackey’s bullying video
Posted: 5/20/2013
Well, I guess you could say it started for me in the 4th grade when some students started what was a game called the mackey touch that spread like wild fire and if you were touched by me or had to sit next to me you might get this disease that was like getting cooties. I tried to ignore it like my mom said but it really never stopped they just continued to come up with new things to say or call me like ugly or fat and when I would get upset and say something I would get told I had anger issues and to watch out for me. Well I again told my mom and she told my teacher and the principal came in and talked to the students in my class and it helped for a little while.
Then the new school year started and I was excited to go to the 5th grade a new teacher and I just knew that things would be different, but they weren't it didn't take long about a month and the names started again, the mackey touch was back and now I was getting really tired of it and I felt like no one cared and was tired of hearing that it is just a part of growing up and to basically get over it. Finally after I found out that my classmates were texting and emailing things about me like I was now anorexic and that I stick my finger down my throat (who does that? Gross) I was done with just taking it and decided to make a video to tell people about the effects of bullying and why it has to stop.
It has been a little over a month now and I still haven't backed down from my bullies I have talked about it to the local new station, I have had an article written and published in the local newspaper, and I have hosted an anti-bully day at my school where students wore pink and signed a banner to pledge to stand up to bullying and help me stop it. I feel like this is something that shouldn't just be hidden and everyone needs to know that it is affecting people of all ages from elementary school to adults and we need to have it stopped.
I hope you watch my video and you to have the courage to stand up and speak out about what you are going through.
your friend
Mackey
By: Mackey
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Miller Prom King Shows Royal Character
Posted: 5/17/2013
A GIFT FIT FOR A KING...
Watch the video>>
Miller student gives friend title and much more.
Adam Chadwick was picked on by his classmates in elementary and middle school, and he had few friends. There was Tyrell, though. Tyrell Clay became his friend. He stood up for Adam. The teasing stopped. "He was the only person I could count on," Adam said. Through four years at Miller High School, while Tyrell excelled in sports and everybody seemingly knew him in the hallways he kept supporting Adam. When students teased Adam about his shaggy hair Tyrell was there to stop it. When Adam's mother died three years ago, Tyrell was there with empathy.
And when Adam looked heartbroken that he wasn't prom king Tyrell was there. Two weeks ago at American Bank Center, Tyrell was crowned king. But his buddy deserved the recognition more then him, he believed, and the 18 year old quickly gave up the title to Adam who was a king finalist. " I wanted it but I could see how disappointed he was when he didn't get it," Tyrell said. " It broke my heart to see him like that, so I knew what I had to do."
Adam persevered through years of torment, Tyrell said, and despite it , Adam was able excel in class, even taking advanced placement courses. "His accomplishments needed to be recognized that night instead of mine," he said. Adam,18, was shocked. "I don't know what I did to deserve that," he said. The teen said he almost skipped the night altogether. "I was afraid people were going to laugh at me if I won, but after Tyrell gave me the rouwn, every doubt I had about that nigh vanished," Adam said. "Seeing how my classmates accepted me changed my belief that they hated me. I would have regretted skipping it, knowing what I do now."
Adam didn’t have a place where he could be comfortable for many years, Tyrell said. "That can weigh a person down," he said. "I wanted to be there for him anyway I could." Tyrell said he hopes the positive recognition on prom night will help people get to know Adam. Many more will know about him after their story is featured on "CBS Evening News." "No one knows how smart he is," Tyrell said. "I can talk to him about any subject, and he knows everything about it."
Adam said Tyrell has taught him about giving people the benefit of the doubt. "I didn't know what a true friend was until I met Tyrell," Adam said. "He's taught me to give people second chances." Adam and Tyrell said they know they can rely on each other no matter what. "If he ever needs me," Adam said, "I'll be there for him. He can count on me."
By: Shared by Tyrone
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Why Do We Hate?
Posted: 5/17/2013
Why do we hate?
The world is such a cruel heartless place.
How do I live, where do I go?
I'm spinning out of control!
Words break, as do bones.
Their hearts as cold as stone.
I cry
And some day I will die.
No.
I will rise up and be free!
I am going to live and just be me.
I don't care and will not cry.
I will freely look my bully in the eye.
I will hold out my hand and say,
It doesn't have to be this way!
Come with me and be free.
Happiness is all that we will see!
Grab my hand and let's go save the world!
By: Amanda
Thank you to Children's Cancer Center
Posted: 5/16/2013
A group of brave kids at the Childrens Cancer Center in New Jersey are raising awareness of bullying by working on a project to gather resources to share with others to get the word out about taking action against bullying.
They have used PACER's bullying prevention websites, plus they wanted to share this site, http://www.qualityansweringservice.com/resources/call-stop-bullying
They are working very hard and PACER would like to thank them, especially Jenny, for all that they are doing to help others. We appreciate them!
By: PACER Staff
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Anthony DiNizo Bullying Project
Posted: 5/9/2013
By: Anthony
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LINDSEY ERIN, “JUST AS I AM”
Posted: 4/26/2013
My school days … where do I start? My years in elementary school were my best years ever. I was an A-student and loved going to school. Sixth grade was pretty normal. However, it all started in 7th grade. That is when my nightmare began.
I became friends with a good bunch of people. However, one of them was a jealous person that would rebel when things didn't go her way. She would spread random rumors about me. She said I was ugly and fat. It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough which destroyed my self-esteem. She would post things about me on MySpace. The school logged onto my account and everything was deleted by her. The school labeled me as the trouble maker.
This boy and his friends would stare and laugh at me during lunch. One day I snapped and poured a slushy over his head. I learned that retaliation was NOT the answer. As a lesson to everyone in the 8th grade, the kickball tournament was cancelled. They used the slushy incident as an example. Everyone hated me. Even my friends were afraid to be with me because they would get picked on by the other kids. After that, I kept faking being sick so I didn’t have to go to school. I didn’t want to tell my parents the truth because I didn’t want them to go to school. That would cause too many problems for me.
In 9th grade, I became a rebel or otherwise known as a know-it-all that could do no wrong. I thought if I fit in with people, I wouldn’t be bullied. I got in trouble at school and didn’t care about anything, including my parents. I finally woke up and got away from that group. Well, it all started again.
In 10th grade, I fell in love with Disney music. The lyrics inspired me to become a better person. I always liked to sing so I asked my parents if I could take singing lessons. Life couldn’t get any better … I thought.
They made fun of the clothes I wore, the music I listened to and the makeup I wore. They were making my life miserable. I would get prank calls at my house at all hours of the night.
I then met Brianna. She helped me through a lot. She was a true friend that I could trust with everything. I met her friends who were so welcoming of me. They didn’t judge me or try to make me be someone other than myself. They accepted me just as I am!
Now it was getting close to going to 12th grade. My parents enrolled me in Cyber School. Life was so much better for me. June 2011, I graduated. It was the greatest feeling when I accepted my diploma. I held my head high. Now I was ready to work towards my dreams of being a singer.
I met an awesome songwriter, Jerry Duncan. He had me listen to some songs and there was one that caught my attention, "Just As I Am". It talks about self-confidence and accepting yourself for who you are. I could relate to the song so much. It had a powerful message.
It took all the trials and tribulations of my life to realize how much bullying there is in this world. I know exactly what people are going through. If it wasn't for music, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Music changed my life. I never thought that I would be opening for National Country Acts on grandstands at fairs or going to Nashville to record a CD. But because I pushed forward each and every day, I am finally achieving those goals. I have come so far within the past 8 years. No matter how many times people push you down, always get right back up and move forward. We are all beautiful just the way that God made us. Never let the people hurt you in life get in the way of your dreams. I am living my dream” Just As I Am”.
Listen to “Just As I Am” by Lindsey Erin
By: Lindsey Erin
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