Vol, 7, No. 8: February 25, 2008		Get SEAchange by email

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5. Bullies Beware! in Lac du Flambeau

T-shirts emblazoned with a sharply designed, graffiti-influenced logo reading "Bullies Beware!" were all the rage among students and staff Friday at Lac du Flambeau Elementary School. It was the culmination of a week of activities to discourage potential bullies and encourage kids who are being harassed to talk to an adult.

Other Bullies Beware! events included wearing boots to symbolize "stamping out bullying" and hats to "put a lid on bullying." Teachers modeled the striking, white-on-black T-shirts last Monday, and students asked how they could acquire the cool threads.

When they heard they'd all get their own shirt to wear on Friday, "they were enthused and happy," says John Lohoff, the school counselor who coordinated the week's events.

After helping pilot the Department of Public Instruction's Bullying Prevention Curriculum at Lac du Flambeau, Lohoff decided it was important for school districts to use that curriculum, and then to supplement it.

He says school staff designed the fun Bullies Beware! activities—from the boots and T-shirts to the rap performance by teachers that kicked off the doings—to shout a message to students, loud and clear: that students who engage in bullying will pit themselves against a whole community, and students who resist bullies will have lots of adult support.

"One thing I got out of [the DPI] curriculum is the importance of going to a trusted adult," says Lohoff. "We're trying to show kids you can go to us, you can trust us. Pick that teacher you like, go up to them. We're trying to build a relationship like that."

The school intends to plan more activities throughout the year, in hopes that "Bullies Beware!" will become the sort of statement that never goes out of style.

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Last updated on 2/25/2008