Anti-Bullying Week at MAS
Monday 13th to Friday 17th November 2017
The MAS student council worked extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure that our Anti-bullying Week 2017 was a reflective experience for all with a range of activities on offer to engage our students.
Anti-bullying workshops with Year 7 and assemblies to all year groups took place throughout the week and student council representatives visited forms to see the amazing discussions taking place and to help reinforce messages to support this importance cause. Students were asked about the different types of bullying and were asked about their thoughts and suggestions as to how they can be stopped. This was reinforced at lunchtimes in The Street, Library and Sixth Form area as each year group had a scroll to write positive messages of solidarity and thought-provoking anti-bullying quotes.
The assemblies really brought to the forefront the severity of the implications of bullying and the external members affected by such acts, as our student council performed a moving drama performance which highlighted the bond of a mother and son, to show how the parents are affected after an act of suicide, resulting from cyber-bullying. The drama piece was inspired by Lucy Alexander’s moving interview on ‘This Morning’, where she shares the pain of the loss of her son, Felix Alexander, who committed suicide at the age of 17.
On Monday and Tuesday during form time, break and lunch students were encouraged to create anti-bullying quotes and complete kindness cards by writing a positive message for another student to make their day and also create one anti-bullying quote per form.
During period 4 on Wednesday students were handed a small piece of string. They were asked to tie a knot around their fingers to represent unity in standing against bullying and to represent putting a ‘STOP’ to bullying. A one minute silence was held to enable students to remember and to reflect upon those children who have taken their own lives as a result of bullying.
The word ‘Kindness’ has been reinforced throughout the week. During Thursday and Friday, students distributed the kindness cards completed on Monday and Tuesday and cupcakes were on sale during lunch time to celebrate and help spread all the kind-heartedness and compassion displayed throughout the week. Student council raised £74, which will go to Lucy Alexander’s kindness campaign.
On Friday 17th November, the week ended with students displaying one last symbolic and moving act. One representative from each year group was selected to release a balloon into the sky containing an anti-bullying quote to symbolise solidarity and unity against bullying. This was a special moment as each year group counted down to the release of the balloons into the sky.
