Bullying nipped in the bud

Page 10

Piitoayis family school and Valley View elementary school can proudly proclaim their Make a Connection leadership and conflict resolution project was one of the most successful in Canada.

Uniquely situated, the two schools, one Aboriginal, the other non-Aboriginal, share a building, library and playground. When the Piitoayis school moved into the building in September 2002, the principals immediately noticed a rift between the students on the playground.

"Even the first weeks we were here it became 'them and us.' ...You could see that they were divided, they wouldn't play together," said Irene LaPierre, principal at Piitoayis.

To bring the students together and prevent a growth of hostility, LaPierre applied to Make a Connection, a program run by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and Nokia to encourage positive youth development. Thrive! The Canadian Centre for Positive Youth Development implements the Make a Connection program, which focuses on developing the life skills of Canadian Aboriginal youth.

In November 2003, Make a Connection began with a training series called "Working it Out" for the teaching staff at both schools. This included a kit for each classroom with a series of activities teachers could use to help prevent bulling and encourage leadership.

Following the staff training, the Grade 6 class at Valley View and the grades 5 and 6 class at Piitoayis had their own series of workshops on how to become student leaders. The program incorporates all aspects of a student's life, from the mental and emotional to the physical and spiritual. The students played co-operative games and participated in dramatic re-enactments to learn ways to work together and to solve problems.

Conflict resolution was a key component of the program. Students learned how to identify bullying and to stop potential bullying situations before they get out of hand.

"You tell them that it's not alright, then they'll hopefully see that it's actually not right to put other people down and to make people hurt their feelings," explained Piitoayis Grade 7 student Shilo Clark, who had a unique take on her school situation.

"It's basically like the school is a toy and the two kids are sharing."

Piitoayis is a family school, so parents had a workshop as well. Since then, the schools have had a follow-up workshop in February and are planning another for Oct. 25.

Thanks to the intuition of the two principals and their immediate action, no major incidents occurred between the two student bodies. Now, the students from both schools share more than a building, they share an understanding and even friendships.

"Before [Make a Connection] I never knew the kids from Valley View. I knew we were sharing a school with them, but I didn't know their names and I didn't know who they were. But once we did this Make A Connection part, then I found that I could interact with the Valley View [kids], and it was really, it's really fun and exciting to make new friends in a different school," said Clark.

The program has had a lasting positive impression on the students. Since the program began, Piitoayis and Valley View senior students have collaborated on a number of events, including a Christmas food bank drive and a sports day.

The side effects are contagious. LaPierre noticed that among the senior kids, "All behaviors changed at that level, and because those behaviors changed, they were modeling that positive behavior for the younger kids.

"It's more than academics, you know. I think there's so many skills that our kids need to learn that are beyond math and science and social studies and English, [including] life skills and being really good role models, and being proud of who they are and not get into confrontation because someone's different," added LaPierre.

To help achieve this goal, Piitoayis invited an Elder to attend the program and provided an Indian taco lunch.

"It was really good for thenon-Aboriginal kids at Valley View to experience a little bit of... Aboriginal culture and content, and our kids are really proud to share with them," said Irene LaPierre

Piitoayis students from kindergarten to Grade 7 participate daily in many cultural activities and ceremonies, including a smudge and prayer ceremony every morning. They also learn traditional drumming, singing, and dancing, as well as the Blackfoot and Cree languages. Piitoayis is Blackfoot for 'Eagle Lodge,' a name chosen by the Elders, also referred to as cultural resource leaders by the school.

The cultural program and the perceptiveness of the principal to bring in programs like Make a Connection make Piitoayis a favorite place to be for its students. Grade 7 student Tanis Bily is not shy about her feelings towards the school. "Yeah, I have won the good attendance award, and I love coming to the school. ... [At] the other schools I did not want to come because everybody was like bullying me. It's really great to come back here."