Student Initiatives

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

For the past year, the Board of Directors and the staff at St. Ignatius School have been working hard to identify effective ways to play an active role in supporting our students and demonstrating our disapproval of bullying in all forms: physical, verbal, relational, and electronic.

With the help of Dr. Mary Hall from Safe Schools Manitoba, our school-based Bullying Prevention Committee has been trained in the Olweus Program, a comprehensive, school-wide program designed to be implemented over a three-year period. Its goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bullying among children and improve the social climate of classrooms.

The official launch of the program took place on February 1, 2008. This consisted of a half-day of presentations and activities to introduce our school's four bullying prevention rules. A significant part of the initial activities and discussions have focused on educating students about what does and does not constitute bullying, outlining the role and responsibilities of the bystander, and helping students to know that our school is a safe place to report any concerns about bullying. Following the launch, consistent language and responses to reported and witnessed incidents have been employed. Regularly scheduled class meetings are also an important component of this program. A no-tolerance policy for bullying is ultimately the driving force behind of all of these efforts.

Student surveys will be administered in December 2008 and December 2009 and compared to the baseline data from the 2007 student survey, completed prior to the launch of the program. Results from the surveys will be shared with parents and used to help us implement ongoing improvements to the social climate of our school.

At St. Ignatius School, we have a renewed commitment to ensuring that all students are free from the negative effects of bullying by encouraging and promoting positive behavior, valuing differences and promoting sensitivity towards others. We continue to focus on cultivating a warm, welcoming faith-based school climate that enables students to focus on academic excellence and character development.

Moral Intelligences

Based on Michelle Borba's book, Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues That teach Kids to Do the Right Thing, staff and students worked on one of the following virtues each month throughout the school year:

• Empathy
• Conscience
• Self-Control
• Respect
• Kindness
• Tolerance
• Fairness

This program guided the professional faith development of staff and was taught in conjunction with the teachings of the Church through the religious education program.