Post by casey on Mar 5, 2010 7:32:01 GMT -6
Hill students make video to stop bullying
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2084689,Naperville-school-bullying-video_NA030510.article
March 5, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
When a bus returned to Hill Middle School after a recent field trip, staff and the students in Beth Piccininni's mixed media technology classes seized the moment.
Before it could pull away, they ran to catch the school bus — and quickly turned it into an impromptu location shoot for their video.
"We had to be really flexible and run when we had a moment," Piccininni said.
Because — as the student survey results shared in the video show — it happens there, on the bus.
It also happens in the halls, classrooms and elsewhere on school grounds.
Bullying happens everywhere. But the students involved in the project say they are willing take a stand against bullies and their behavior.
"I think there's a fairly decent amount on a regular basis," eighth-grader Dan Thomas said.
It's mostly verbal, he said. Or occasionally someone pushes another. Or teasing that sometimes goes too far.
According to a survey of Hill Middle School students, about half say bullying takes place at the school.
"I don't see (much) — little or none — so I was kind of surprised," said Rachel Stoffregen, who is also in eighth grade.
She is among the 54 students in Piccininni's two classes charged with creating an anti-bullying video that current and future students will see.
"I think they'll like it, and they'll find it's safe in the school," Stoffregen said.
The video, she said, is welcoming to students, and it's doing something about the bullying that does occur.
"I thought it's good the school is trying to help," she said. "Kids get bullied at every school, and trying to help (the problem) is good."
Incidents declining
In the decade since the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., placed a spotlight on the issue of bullying, school districts throughout the country have stepped up efforts to combat all types of bullying behavior. And the programs seem to be working.
According to a national survey funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, the percentage of children who reported being physically bullied over the past year had declined from nearly 22 percent in 2003 to under 15 percent in 2008. The percentage reporting they'd been assaulted by other youths, including their siblings, dropped from 45 percent to 38.4 percent.
School districts all over, including Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 — which Hill is part of — have implemented programs that aim to empower students to stand up against bullies and their actions.
As part of Hill's anti-bullying effort, the school surveyed the students on their experiences, Principal Al Davenport said.
According to Hill's survey, about half of the students said bullying takes place in various locations within the school. One in four students said they had been hit or kicked. One in three admitted teasing another student, as well as spreading rumors.
"We did (the survey) online, and we wanted to come up with a creative way to show the results to the kids," Davenport said.
He approached the school's Student Services team, and mentioned a student-created video he had seen online by Liberty Junior High School.
"The concept was kind of stolen off YouTube, I guess," Davenport joked.
Standing together
School staff worked on the program for Hill during weekly Professional Development Wednesdays, he said.
"That's a perfect example of how teachers are using that time," Davenport said.
Together with students, the school came up with the theme of STAND: Stand Together and Never Disrespect. They made T-shirts incorporating the theme and school's Trailblazers logo. Staff presented a few songs to the students, who then voted to choose the one that would serve as the soundtrack to the video.
They selected "Stand" by Rascal Flatts, which includes the refrain: "On your knees you look up/Decide you've had enough/You get mad, you get strong/Wipe your hands, shake it off/Then you stand, then you stand."
"From there we approached Mrs. Piccininni, we gave them the song and let their creative juices take over," said Cynthia Loiterman, speech and language pathologist at Hill.
Piccininni's class includes a project with an audio-video component in which the students learn to make movies using Windows Movie Maker. Instead of a just making a random video, now "they're making a movie that has a purpose," Piccininni said.
Cooperative effort
The students, she said, were on board with it from the start. And just about everyone at Hill got to participate if they wanted to.
"I think we really used as much of the school, the student body and staff as possible," Loiterman said.
The project was truly a cooperative effort, especially among students in the class. As they filmed footage, they took two to three shots of every scene. Then, they would vote on which one would be best for the video.
Each student then created his or her own version of the video, with the only differences being the types of font used and timing of scene transitions. Currently, they are in the final phases of editing.
The video will be shown to not only Hill students, but fifth-graders so they will be exposed to school's philosophy and be part of the school community as they get ready to transition to middle school, Hill staff said. Three District 204 elementary schools feed into Hill: Brookdale, Cowlishaw and Watts.
"It's a good opportunity for us to be personally involved, and help kids who are coming in the fall learn that bullying won't be tolerated here," student Thomas said. "And there are people willing to help."
Eventually the school hopes to put the video on the school's Web site as well, Davenport said. It runs for about 3 1/2 minutes — short enough to hold students' attention. Now that the project is almost complete, those in the school are anxious to see the results.
"Not a day goes by that someone doesn't ask 'When are you going to show it?'" said John Brom, school social worker.
Other efforts
The video is just one aspect of the school's push to be proactive in regards to bullying, Davenport said.
Once a month, students watch a PowerPoint presentation targeting such behavior. Students also watched a theatrical performance on how to respond to bullying. And last year Brom created the superhero for Hill named Mr. Assertive, who was carried over into the Hill's anti-bullying efforts. Students learn how to be assertive and stand up for others.
"Research is showing that's the most effective way to (combat) bullying," Brom said.
Eighty-six percent of Hill students admitted to walking away when they see bullying, Davenport said. STAND has common language and themes as the elementary schools' Stop, Walk and Talk bullying prevention program.
By presenting the messages through ways like the superhero and video, middle school students are more likely to respond, school officials said. Rather than lecturing, the staff wanted to present the messages in a way that resonated with the students.
"It's the more sophisticated version of Stop, Walk and Talk," school psychologist Brad Verthein said. "Be assertive in a sophisticated way."
Students said they learned a lot from the project — and not just about movie-making.
"We learned that we don't have to be afraid, that someone is always there," Thomas said. "Even if we're not the ones bullied, we can be the one to make the change for someone being bullied."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2084689,Naperville-school-bullying-video_NA030510.article
March 5, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
When a bus returned to Hill Middle School after a recent field trip, staff and the students in Beth Piccininni's mixed media technology classes seized the moment.
Before it could pull away, they ran to catch the school bus — and quickly turned it into an impromptu location shoot for their video.
"We had to be really flexible and run when we had a moment," Piccininni said.
Because — as the student survey results shared in the video show — it happens there, on the bus.
It also happens in the halls, classrooms and elsewhere on school grounds.
Bullying happens everywhere. But the students involved in the project say they are willing take a stand against bullies and their behavior.
"I think there's a fairly decent amount on a regular basis," eighth-grader Dan Thomas said.
It's mostly verbal, he said. Or occasionally someone pushes another. Or teasing that sometimes goes too far.
According to a survey of Hill Middle School students, about half say bullying takes place at the school.
"I don't see (much) — little or none — so I was kind of surprised," said Rachel Stoffregen, who is also in eighth grade.
She is among the 54 students in Piccininni's two classes charged with creating an anti-bullying video that current and future students will see.
"I think they'll like it, and they'll find it's safe in the school," Stoffregen said.
The video, she said, is welcoming to students, and it's doing something about the bullying that does occur.
"I thought it's good the school is trying to help," she said. "Kids get bullied at every school, and trying to help (the problem) is good."
Incidents declining
In the decade since the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., placed a spotlight on the issue of bullying, school districts throughout the country have stepped up efforts to combat all types of bullying behavior. And the programs seem to be working.
According to a national survey funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, the percentage of children who reported being physically bullied over the past year had declined from nearly 22 percent in 2003 to under 15 percent in 2008. The percentage reporting they'd been assaulted by other youths, including their siblings, dropped from 45 percent to 38.4 percent.
School districts all over, including Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 — which Hill is part of — have implemented programs that aim to empower students to stand up against bullies and their actions.
As part of Hill's anti-bullying effort, the school surveyed the students on their experiences, Principal Al Davenport said.
According to Hill's survey, about half of the students said bullying takes place in various locations within the school. One in four students said they had been hit or kicked. One in three admitted teasing another student, as well as spreading rumors.
"We did (the survey) online, and we wanted to come up with a creative way to show the results to the kids," Davenport said.
He approached the school's Student Services team, and mentioned a student-created video he had seen online by Liberty Junior High School.
"The concept was kind of stolen off YouTube, I guess," Davenport joked.
Standing together
School staff worked on the program for Hill during weekly Professional Development Wednesdays, he said.
"That's a perfect example of how teachers are using that time," Davenport said.
Together with students, the school came up with the theme of STAND: Stand Together and Never Disrespect. They made T-shirts incorporating the theme and school's Trailblazers logo. Staff presented a few songs to the students, who then voted to choose the one that would serve as the soundtrack to the video.
They selected "Stand" by Rascal Flatts, which includes the refrain: "On your knees you look up/Decide you've had enough/You get mad, you get strong/Wipe your hands, shake it off/Then you stand, then you stand."
"From there we approached Mrs. Piccininni, we gave them the song and let their creative juices take over," said Cynthia Loiterman, speech and language pathologist at Hill.
Piccininni's class includes a project with an audio-video component in which the students learn to make movies using Windows Movie Maker. Instead of a just making a random video, now "they're making a movie that has a purpose," Piccininni said.
Cooperative effort
The students, she said, were on board with it from the start. And just about everyone at Hill got to participate if they wanted to.
"I think we really used as much of the school, the student body and staff as possible," Loiterman said.
The project was truly a cooperative effort, especially among students in the class. As they filmed footage, they took two to three shots of every scene. Then, they would vote on which one would be best for the video.
Each student then created his or her own version of the video, with the only differences being the types of font used and timing of scene transitions. Currently, they are in the final phases of editing.
The video will be shown to not only Hill students, but fifth-graders so they will be exposed to school's philosophy and be part of the school community as they get ready to transition to middle school, Hill staff said. Three District 204 elementary schools feed into Hill: Brookdale, Cowlishaw and Watts.
"It's a good opportunity for us to be personally involved, and help kids who are coming in the fall learn that bullying won't be tolerated here," student Thomas said. "And there are people willing to help."
Eventually the school hopes to put the video on the school's Web site as well, Davenport said. It runs for about 3 1/2 minutes — short enough to hold students' attention. Now that the project is almost complete, those in the school are anxious to see the results.
"Not a day goes by that someone doesn't ask 'When are you going to show it?'" said John Brom, school social worker.
Other efforts
The video is just one aspect of the school's push to be proactive in regards to bullying, Davenport said.
Once a month, students watch a PowerPoint presentation targeting such behavior. Students also watched a theatrical performance on how to respond to bullying. And last year Brom created the superhero for Hill named Mr. Assertive, who was carried over into the Hill's anti-bullying efforts. Students learn how to be assertive and stand up for others.
"Research is showing that's the most effective way to (combat) bullying," Brom said.
Eighty-six percent of Hill students admitted to walking away when they see bullying, Davenport said. STAND has common language and themes as the elementary schools' Stop, Walk and Talk bullying prevention program.
By presenting the messages through ways like the superhero and video, middle school students are more likely to respond, school officials said. Rather than lecturing, the staff wanted to present the messages in a way that resonated with the students.
"It's the more sophisticated version of Stop, Walk and Talk," school psychologist Brad Verthein said. "Be assertive in a sophisticated way."
Students said they learned a lot from the project — and not just about movie-making.
"We learned that we don't have to be afraid, that someone is always there," Thomas said. "Even if we're not the ones bullied, we can be the one to make the change for someone being bullied."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.