National Action against Bullying Day
On the 21st of March, the SRC launched an event called #GIVEUP where we promote action against bullying by challenging the whole school to give up any form of social media for a chosen amount of time. We have gotten over 100 pledges already and we are so very excited! We continue to encourage all girls participating and congratulate them on taking this step to stop bullying.
What is bullying?
Bullying is something that we hear about constantly throughout our life. It is something we have been taught about in our classes but the meaning can sometimes lose affect over time. Bullying is repeated aggressive, negative behaviour. 1 in 4 Australian students face it every day and it is a very serious issue that needs to be stopped.
Cyber-bullying:
This year Macarthur Girls High School decided to approach things differently. Instead of focusing on bullying overall we decided to target a specific type of bullying that occurs the most often. Cyber-bullying. Our aim is to prevent negative impacts both mentally and physically on both the bully and the bullied and to decrease bullying at our school.
Rice experiment:
The SRC were also inspired by another’s idea about the importance of positivity. We were inspired by Dr Emoto’s metaphorical experiment where he shows the power of positive messages.(Show video)The SRC are also modelling this experiment in the office where you can come by and see the power of words through this metaphorical experiment. More information will be put up about the challenge on the website so keep checking for news and also check out our twitter page.
What do we want to do to raise awareness and stop bullying in our school?
The first step we decided to take was to start with spreading positive messages. The SRC were inspired by Make Sydney Smile (An organisation dedicated to spreading positivity throughout Sydney through positive messages). Words have more impact than most people think they do. They can be used for spreading negativity but they can also be used to spread positivity. The SRC decided to do just this by hanging up envelopes in the Rose Garden. Inside, students found a positive message, statement or quote. We also gave an option of a letter exchange where a student writes a letter to a specific person and they can start a pen pal relationship.The first day we launched this activity all the letters had run out by the end of recess. It was so amazing to see the school take that first step to stop bullying and to prove the power of positivity.