Bullying

Bullying can occur anywhere, including at school.  At Bluestone we do not accept that bullying is okay and we do our very best to address any issues that arise. We appreciate when any bullying is brought to our attention as bullying isn't always obvious and may be discussed at home before it is brought up at school. Sometimes a parent may notice a change in their child's behaviour and self confidence. This is a great time to have a discussion with your child to see if bullying is to blame. A joint home and school approach is most likely to be successful in overcoming bullying. A solution may be as simple as a discussion with those involved, or it may be more complex and require the involvement of support personnel and outside agencies. To simply ignore the bullying may work but for many children this does not solve the problem and it needs to be addressed in an appropriate way. There is no one size fits all solution!

Bullying is when someone uses words or actions to hurt or shame someone else, or take advantage of them. They do this on purpose.

Bullying is not a new thing but it certainly is more often discussed and in the media. Bullying is certainly not confined to schools.

Bullying can take many forms:
Name calling, mocking, teasing, scaring people, being threatening, saying very mean things, spreading rumours, damaging stuff, leaving people out just to be mean, pushing, throwing, kicking; using txt, phone, email, photos or the web for mean messages or lies; shoving, getting violent, using blackmail, punching, getting someone into trouble for something they didn't do, stealing, pulling hair, or tripping.

Sometimes people don't know why they bully others but often it is:
to get attention, to try and be funny, to feel important, or powerful and strong, to get back at someone who has made them feel bad, to get things they want, to take their bad feelings out on someone else, to wind up other people - just because they can, or because they are jealous of the person, because they are bored, because others are bullying as well and they just join in, or simply they are copying what they have seen others do or has been done to them.
None of these reasons ever make bullying okay because bullying hurts other people.

If students are feeling bullied we suggest they talk to a trusted adult such as a family member, a teacher, the Principal, or our Social Worker In Schools.
Students can also phone a help line, such as ...
Youthline 0800 376 633 or What's Up 0800 942 8787

We have some useful resources in our library such as:
Bully Blocking  (Six secrets to help children deal with teasing and bullying) by Evelyn M Field
Stick Up For Yourself!  (Every kid's guide to personal power and positive self-esteem) by Kaufman, Raphael & Espeland
Bullies Are A Pain In The Brain by Trevor Romain

If any parents would like to find further resources we suggest viewing www.skylight.org.nz