Spread Peace and Acceptance at Your School: NIOS University Courses Now Available for Educators  

NIOS is proud to announce two new courses for educators! Both courses guide you toward developing your own Not In Our School (NIOS) Bullying Prevention Campaign. The Dominican University [1] course covers ways to address bullying and start a NIOS Campaign. The University of San Diego [2] Course focuses on building a NIOS Campaign and creating a safe and caring community. Select the course that works for you! The course dates, registration links, and descriptions can be found here. [3]

NIOS Mini-Grant Funds Video and Activities at Thurston High School 

People may come in different shapes and sizes, but they share common experiences. This was demonstrated in the halls of Thurston High School in Redford, MI, where students hung silhouettes penned with personal bullying experiences throughout the school. The students created a video of their activities and their anti-bullying work was covered in their local newspaper [4], The Redford Observer. The school also hosted guest speaker Cpl. Erin Diamond to teach the students about internet safety and cyberbullying. We admire the students’ creativity and we are excited to see the NIOS campaign grow and thrive at Thurston High School!

Remarkable Person: Meet Bob Sinclair, Principal of Redland Middle School in Rockville, MD

Bob Sinclair, principal of Redland Middle School in Rockville, MD, has created his own blog, Principal Sinclair’s Think-Spot. There, he shares his work and reflections, and collaborates with his staff to meet the needs and challenges of each of the students. His blogs chronicle the sustained anti-bullying efforts at Redlands [5], including the creation of an anti-bullying awareness month [6] and student advisory sessions. Students are taking the lead in examining problems [7]and collectively seeking solutions. We admire his thoughtful exploration and commend him for taking action. We look forward to watching Principal Sinclair develop models of action and are excited to see the growth of this movement!

 The World of Girl Bullying in Finding Kind Documentary

Finding Kind is a documentary by filmmakers Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson, who set out on a cross-country journey of discovery and education. They interviewed women of all ages along the way, asking about their life experiences growing up as girls. The women shared remarkable experiences about their bullying experiences, giving unique insight into the cruelty of “girl world.” The women’s unique personal stories give light to the universal experience of of all women. Finding Kind is a unique tool for parents and educators and hopes to establish a movement to create programs in schools targeted to girls. Watch the trailer here.
[8]

 

New Study Finds Key to Helping Bullied Girls

According to a new study published by the Journal of Happiness Studies, [9] there is a four-way interaction between bullying, gender, peer relationships and relationships with adults. The researchers found that the most powerful ‘protective factors,’ or factors that buffer the emotional and psychological effects of bullying, are social factors. For girls, there was a protective effect if they had positive relationships with their peers and with adults. This effect was measured if the child said ‘yes’ to questions such as “Does a parent or some other grown-up at home believe that you can do a good job?” They did not find the same effect for boys, but this research can be beneficial to parents of bullied girls.