Fifteen students selected to be ABC Champions at Gladys Abraham Elementary School are joined by their advisors and School Crossing Guards Ms. George, Ms. Patrick, Ms Jeffers and Ms. Fedricks following a training on bullying prevention on October 26 at the school.
Schools across the St. Thomas-St. John District are preparing groups of students to be the eyes and ears against bullying on their school campuses during the October 24-28 rollout of ABC (Anti-Bullying Champion) training.
Fifteen students at Gladys Abraham Elementary School either met the criteria to participate or were hand-picked by school administrators to receive training for the important initiative. The "Champions," as the students are referred to, attended a series of workshops on safety, bullying prevention and other relevant topics to help cultivate a friendly and safe school environment. The workshops were led by representatives from various government agencies.
On Wednesday, October 26, Gladys Abraham ABC Champions enjoyed an hour-long session on the dangers of bullying and how to prevent. The session was led by four school crossing guards, who energetically and generously doled out information about the different types of bullying--including physical, verbal and online--and what to do if students are bullied or see someone experiencing it.
"If you are cyber bullied, what should you do," the crossing guards asked. Students' responses ranged from telling a parent or a teacher, or even alerting the website's managers where the bullying is taking place. The crossing guards agreed that these were all excellent answers.
The women also shared tips for effective school patrol.
"Before you can be a school patrol, you yourself must have perfect behavior," stated Ms. George, supervisor of school crossing guards. "You must try to lead the other children. You should be happy and proud that your teachers chose you to be a school patrol. That is a big step. That means to me that you are the best and you are well-behaved and I want you to keep it up."
The young Champions studiously took notes as the women shared words of wisdom with them.
"You have to set the example, most importantly," Ms. Jeffers chimed in.
"When you see anyone is going to get into conflict, try to stop it before it starts," Mrs. George continued. She has been on the job for close to 29 years and instinctively knows how to spot trouble before it starts. She encouraged students to use their whistles that will be assigned to them to alert an adult or other student patrol members when the need arises.
"Blow your whistle at them," Mrs. George said, "to let them know you are watching. You are the watchdog and have to watch out for your peers. You are the ones that will help your principal and your teachers because they cannot see everything. You will help them look out for the other children. If there is any conflict, don't try to make it be worse, make it better by talking to your peers" and encouraging them to change their behavior.
As part of the afternoon training, students received a special visit from Ms. Hamilton, ABC Champions advisor.
"When we are together, we only volunteer ourselves," she reminded the students. By this she meant students should not select their peers to perform a requested task. "If you want to do it, it's ok for you to do it, but you don't assign a duty to someone else."
Another important ground rule, Ms. Hamilton explained, is for students to keep their hands and feet to themselves. "Another community agreement that can keep us all safe is not to speak when someone else is speaking," she added. Students agreed this was important because it showed a sign of disrespect to speak over someone else.
At the end of the training, students will be sworn in at a special ceremony where they will receive official sashes and whistles to perform their duties as ABC Champions on campus.
Other workshops students attended throughout the week included a presentation from the VIPD on Monday, VITEMA on Tuesday, a presentation from Ms. Hamilton on Thursday, and a special in-house training on Friday.
