What is bullying?

According to the ANTI-BULLYING ALLIANCE, bullying is:

The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or online.

The key 4 elements in identifying bullying are:

  • Is it hurtful or was there harm?
  • Is it a one-off or is it happening repeatedly?
  • Is there a power imbalance in the relationships?
  • Is the act intentional?

What can bullying look like?

Physical bullying includes behaviours such as: spitting, shoving, hitting, kicking, beating up, stealing, or damaging property.

Verbal bullying includes behaviours such as: name-calling, hurtful teasing, humiliating or threatening someone, mocking, racist comments, or sexual harassment.

Social bullying includes behaviours such as: excluding others from the group, rolling your eyes or turning away from someone, spreading rumours and gossip, setting others up to look foolish, and damaging friendships.

Electronic or Cyber bullying includes the use of email, text messages, and internet social networking sites to threaten, harass, embarrass, socially exclude, or damage reputations and friendships.

Racial bullying includes behaviours such as: treating people badly because of their racial or ethic background, saying bad things about a cultural background, calling someone racist names, or telling racist jokes.

Religious bullying treating people badly because of their religious background or beliefs, saying bad things about a religious background or belief, calling someone names or telling jokes based on his or her religious beliefs.

Sexual bullying includes behaviours such as: leaving someone out or treating them badly because they are a boy or a girl, making someone feel uncomfortable because of their sex, making sexist comments or jokes touching, pinching or grabbing someone in a sexual way, making crude comments about someone’s sexual behaviour, spreading a sexual rumour about someone, or calling someone inappropriate names.

Disability bullying includes behaviours such as: leaving someone out or treating them badly because of a disability, making someone feel uncomfortable because of a disability, or making comments or jokes to hurt someone with a disability.

How can we all help prevent bullying?

  • Never stand by, watch or encourage bullying.
  • Be clear to your friends that you won’t be involved in that kind of behaviour.
  • Never forward or respond to social network messages or photos that could be offensive or upsetting to anyone.
  • Do not spread gossip, speculate, tease or harass others.
  • Help people who are being bullied get help. Either help them get to an adult or give them information, e.g. Kids Help Line where they can get help.
  • Report to an adult.

What is Park Manor doing to help prevent bullying?

  • Weekly classroom meetings with homeroom teachers, where students will learn skills to improve relationships and reduce bullying. Classroom meetings are also used to problem-solve peer-to-peer conflicts and ongoing student issues within a class
  • Relationship building and problem-solving with our CYW and Guidance Teacher through restorative justice circles
  • Anti-bullying and character development assemblies
  • Class and school-wide activities focused on building character traits that reduce bullying
  • Use of the WRDSB Anonymous Bullying Reporting Tool to investigate and follow up on cases where bullying may have occurred
  • In cases where bullying has occurred, the WRDSB Progressive Discipline Policy will be followed