• Anti-Bullying Assemblies
  • “Stand Up Rise Above” T Shirts
  • “Stand Up Rise Above” Wave
  • Bullying Awareness and Prevention


Anti-Bullying Assemblies

On Tuesday, November 17th, students attended Anti-Bullying assemblies to kickstart National Anti-Bullying Week at St. Andrew’s. Our wonderful ESP (Empowered Student Partnerships) committee worked very hard with Ms. Coughlan and Ms. Dubeau to put together an assembly featuring Myths and Facts about bullying, a skit about bullying, a Stand Up and Be Counted activity and finished up by all staff and students reciting the Anti-Bullying Pledge. A copy of the Pledge is attached.

During the assembly, students learned about the different types of bullying and how to Stand Up against bullying. We all learned that most students have experienced bullying in one form or another, as a victim or a bystander, during their school years. Teachers will be placing a copy of the Anti-Bullying pledge in their classrooms and we will continue to highlight the school commitment to Stand Up and Rise Above Bullying. It will be important for parents to support the students’ understanding about bullying and you might consider discussing the Anti-Bullying pledge with your child for this reason. Thank you for your support!

“Stand Up Rise Above” T Shirts

During National Anti-Bullying Week at St. Andrew’s, we gave away a number of special T-shirts designed to encourage students to Stand Up and Rise Above bullying. A daily draw took place during afternoon announcements every day last week for one of these very attractive T-shirts. Students who sent in an answer to one of our ‘questions of the day’ about bullying will participate in the draw. To have a look at the t-shirts which are designed by Nico Archambault from So You Think You Can Dance Canada, please check out this website. Please note that you can purchase t-shirts directly from the website.

“Stand Up Rise Above” Wave

During period 4 on Friday, most of our students and staff were out on the basketball court area behind the school dressed in our school colours of blue and white, reaffirming their commitment to bullying prevention by reading the Anti-Bullying Pledge and participating in The Wave. Sponsor, The Family Channel, attended this exciting event. Also in attendance was a representative from Prevnet.com, and we were further honoured by the presence of Debra Pepler. Below you will find information about Debra Pepler.


Our visitors all stated how impressed they were by the show of commitment and enthusiasm by our students and staff. Many students told us how much they enjoyed the activity. You can find more information on The Wave at family.ca and in other blog postings. A big thank you goes to our ESP student committee, Ms. Coughlan, our Guidance Counsellor, Ms. Greenspoon, Prevnet.com, our guests, and all staff and students.

Click here for more about Dr. Debra Pepler

Dr. Debra Pepler is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University and a Senior Associate Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children. Her major focus is on aggression and victimization among children and adolescents, particularly in the school context. Her research identifies bullying as a relationship problem that transforms to other problems of power and aggression over the lifespan. She consults to and evaluates two community programs: the SNAP Girls’ Connection – a program for aggressive girls at the Child Development Institute and Breaking the Cycle – a program for substance using mothers. Dr. Pepler is currently serving on the Ontario Ministry of Education Safe Schools Action Team and on several other advisory committees related to parenting, antisocial behaviour, and school violence. Dr. Pepler has been honoured for this research with the Contribution to Knowledge Award from the Psychology Foundation of Canada, the Educator of the Year Award from Phi Delta Kappa (Toronto), and the Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public or Community Service. Together with Dr. Wendy Craig, Dr. Pepler is leading a national network, PREVNet (Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network), a Networks of Centres of Excellence – New Initiative. With national non-government organizations and Canadian research partners, PREVNet’s mission is to promote safe and healthy relationships for all Canadian children and youth.

Bullying Awareness and Prevention

As the sign said outside of the school, November 16 – 22, 2009 was National Anti-Bullying Week. At St. Andrew’s, we participated in a number of awareness and prevention activities related to this topic. In our research about the topic, we came across an excellent Canadian website (http://prevnet.com) that warehouses research information. Researchers such as Debra Pepler, Research Professor of Psychology at York University, who has conducted ground-breaking research on bullying and relationships in Canada, have helped develop resources for students, parents, educators and other professionals to help us better understand bullying. Here are some of the articles (click each to view):
Making a Difference
Adolescent Bully
Adolescent Bullied
Adolescent Bystander
Lens on the Individual Child

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