National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
Year 11 students, led by Eryk Francis, William Leung, Angelique Nguy and Jun Hai Quan
worked to raise awareness for the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
From Tuesday the 22nd to Thursday the 24th, Year 11 students set up a kindness wall in the fountain quad for the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. These leaders hosted a small booth during recess on these days, inviting students and staff to contribute ideas and messages about spreading kindness. This campaign aimed to increase awareness about bullying and promote inclusivity in our school community.
Information about the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence was also posted on the SRC Instagram page.
At the assembly held on the 25 March 2022, Year 11 leaders spoke about some of the ideas students and staff contributed to the Kindness Wall.
Here are some of the suggestions from the Kindness Wall
Help someone with their homework or classwork
Put yourself in their shoes
Help teachers clean up the classroom
Ask about their day
Don’t play games in class
Help people when they are down
Smile at people
Compliment a friend
Compliment a stranger
Let some people win in clash royal
Don’t block the hallways
Ask a teacher how their day is going
Think before you text
One of our key strategies this year to date has been to invite various Year groups to take on a campaign that promotes health relationships and inclusivity. Our Year 11 student team are to be commended for leading a meaningful campaign to raise awareness and encourage a kindness culture at Fort Street.
In our school’s Anti Bullying Plan 2022, we highlight our commitment to the following goals:
All members of the school community are active participants in building a welcoming school culture that values diversity and fosters positive relationships. A key component of a supportive school culture is building respectful relationships and an ethos that bullying is not accepted, in both online and offline environments. School staff will actively respond to student bullying behaviour.
This year our school engages in the following practices to promote a positive school culture.
At the beginning of this year, we promoted our Behaviour Code and Anti Bullying Policy to the school community.
During Term 1 Year 10 Peer Support leaders have led Year 7 students through a program designed by Peer Support Australia focussed on Healthy Relationships.
We also planned the following Police talks for specific year groups; however, our Police Liaison Officer was called to alternative duty helping people in Northern NSW deal with the flood. He will be visiting Fort Street in Term 2 this year to talk with these student groups.
- Healthy Relationships Police Talk years 11 and 12
- Bullying and Harassment Police Talk Years 7 and 8 Follow up in Fortunae and Fortitude Lessons
- Social Media (cybersafety and cyberbullying) Police Talks for Years 9 and 10 students.
This year we are looking forward to hosting some workshops for Year 10 students. Year 10 students will participate in a Lovebites workshop on 26 May 2022 that is focussed on relationships and consent. Year 10 students will also participate in a workshop early Term 3, led by TWENTY10 on Diversity and Inclusion.
We hope these workshops and the learning activities in our Year 10 Fortunae program encourage each student’s understanding of these issues and further develop their skills for empathy and equip our Year 10 students to lead the Wear it Purple Day school celebration and assembly on 26 August, 2022.
Year 7 and 8 students continue to engage in learning about healthy relationships face to face and online in their Fortunae program and will view a theatrical performance on the 16 June 2022, titled The Hurting Game to be presented by Brainstorm Productions. Students will also participate in a Q&A about the impacts of bullying after the performance.
In Term 3 Year 8 students will be engaged in developing ideas and leading the whole school in our RUOK day on the 8 September 2022.
Our whole school wellbeing approach aims to foster a supportive and connecting environment that encourages students to learn from their experiences and the experiences of others. Students will develop important inter and intra-personal skills through the whole school focus areas of community engagement and Leadership.
If you would like to know more about the National Day or Action against Bullying and Violence or access information and resources about Bullying please follow the links below.
National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (bullyingnoway.gov.au)
Penelope Starr
Head Teacher
Wellbeing