The Leesville Road High School counselors encouraged students to wear blue on October 6 to support bullying prevention.
October is National Bullying Prevention month. The LRHS Student Services will be holding activities for students all week. There was a booth set up near Student Services on Monday, October 6 where students could go to learn about bullying, how to prevent it and what to do if you see it. On Wednesday, there was a “Stamp Out Bullying” banner for students who want to take a pledge against bullying. The banner had an anti-bullying phrase or motivational saying written on it; students were able to put a thumbprint on the banner to show their support.
The goal of National Bullying Prevention Month and Blue Shirt Day is to raise awareness of the issue and teach students what bullying is.
Many students are unaware of the way bullying impacts others. “[Bullying] can affect kids in a number of [ways]…sometimes it affects their self-esteem…sometimes it actually will affect [them] academically, it might affect their grades, it might affect their attendance, [they] might be less likely to come to school because that person might be tormenting them,” said Dr. Huber, the student assistance program counselor at Leesville.
Huber has a special interest in bullying. As a counselor, she hears stories about bullying and helps students cope with the effects. She herself also experienced bullying firsthand as a middle schooler.
The counselors are also trying to teach students about the different types of bullying. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that has become particularly prevalent recently. Teens can bully their peers anonymously which makes it easier to bully others.
No matter what kind of bullying it is, students are almost always negatively affected by it.
“Anything that I can do or the counselors can do to help those people who are bullied feel better and help them not be bullied, it’s important to all of us” said Eric Greene, dean of student services.
Students who feel like they are being bullied or have witnessed bullying can talk to a counselor or report it. There is a form available in Student Services that students can fill out to report bullying.
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