Celebrating School Violence Awareness Week
HOPATCONG — School Violence Awareness Week takes place the third week in October each year. It is a time to focus on keeping schools safe and bully-free. This year in a lesson from Lisa Schuffenhauer, School Counselor, Hudson Maxim students learned the "High Five" for problem solving. It includes five different steps to take in solving problems. Students listened for examples of the "High Five" in children's literature, including "The Energy Bus for Kids" and "Llama Llama and the Bully Goat" during the class lessons.
A variety of children's literature focusing on anti-bullying was purchased for each classroom at Hudson Maxim School with grant funding from the Hopatcong Education Association. The Lessons for Literacy grant began with an invitation to the community to visit the classrooms to read the books. The books will also be sent home for families to read together throughout the school year.
Music classes also got involved in the week long celebration. Linda Blaizier, music teacher, sang the "Energy Bus Song" with her music classes. Every morning bus drivers were also asked to review positive affirmations, "I am ready for a great day!" and�"I believe in myself!" with students.
The students at Tulsa Trail showed that their Character Counts, while celebrating School Violence Awareness Week. In a class lesson by Schuffenhauer, second graders reviewed the "High Five" of problem solving that they learned at Hudson Maxim last year. Schuffenhauer taught lessons based on the book, "Bully Beans," by Julie Cook. Students listened for examples of the �High Five� in the story. Then they decorated a T-shirt cut-out with their own message against bullying. The lesson tied the monthly theme of respect into the School Violence Awareness Celebration. On Friday, all students showed their school spirit by wearing yellow, the color of respect in the Six Pillars Program.
Bright Star Children's Theater presented �Sadie's Spectacular Saturday�at both Hudson Maxim and Tulsa Trail Schools to wrap up School Violence Awareness Week. The show highlighted the negative effects of bullying and ways to put an end to bullying. It taught students to stand together against bullies, ignore mean words and walk away. The lessons from the show also taught students to use their words and get help from an adult if they are being bullied.