BULLY FREE 1ST GRADE – I WALK VANESSA POWER POINT

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We’re going to begin with a story about kindness. How one person can actually make a difference in someone’s life.

The story begins with a family moving into a new community -new neighborhood, new school, new friends. Vanessa (little girl up front) is pretty excited about her new adventure, but I’m sure feeling slightly nervous as well.

Vanessa’s first day in her new class was scary because she moved in mid-year and she knew most of her classmates already had friends. She had lots of friends at her old school. At this moment, she was missing them terribly.

At Vanessa’s old school, she loved answering questions and doing the school work, but here, in her new classroom, she felt shy. While the other classmates were busy learning and answering questions, there was one little girl who noticed how sad and scared Vanessa looked. Can you spot her?

It was really hard for Vanessa that first week in school. She didn’t really know anyone and no one asked her to join in to play.

Walking home alone at the end of the day only added to her sadness and missing her old friends and old neighborhood.

For a few days during Vanessa’s first week, a boy approached Vanessa (because she was walking all by herself and looked sad).

At first, Vanessa thought the boy was coming up to be nice, but instead, he started to say some really mean things. For several days, he told her that nobody liked her or wanted her around. He made fun of her hair.

Vanessa was so upset and confused. She had never really spoken to this boy before. She couldn’t understand how someone could be so mean. As this was going on though, the same little girl who noticed Vanessa in class was watching....

The little girl in the yellow dress was paying close attention to Vanessa. She could see how upset Vanessa was and it made her feel very sad. She was able to put herself in Vanessa’s shoes. But what could she do to help? How could she stop this behavior from happening every day!

The little girl wanted desperately to make Vanessa feel better. She watched Vanessa go into her house and decided she needed to tell her friends to see if they had any ideas on how to help.

She immediately went to her group of friends to tell them about how upset the new girl, Vanessa looked and about what had been happening with the boy who behaved so badly towards Vanessa. After hearing the story, her friends felt sad for Vanessa, but they weren’t sure of what they could do to help.

All afternoon, the little girl couldn’t shake the feelings and thoughts she had for Vanessa. She really wanted to try and help, but she was struggling to come up with a plan.

She sat awake thinking and thinking about what she could do to help Vanessa.

At breakfast, it finally came to her! She was so happy, she couldn’t wait to get to out the door….

She walked straight to Vanessa’s house to ask if she wanted to walk to school together. Although Vanessa was still feeling a little scared and shy, she was happy to accept!

The two girls walked to school and learned more about each other on the way. The little girl learned that Vanessa loved dancing and playing games and was pretty good at the piano as well. This was something they had in common and they talked and talked about their favorite music.

On their way, they met up with some more friends from their class. Vanessa was feeling more excited and less shy. She actually smiled for the first time since joining the new school.

As they got closer to school, more and more students joined in and finally….

For the first time in over a week, Vanessa was super excited to go into school! Thanks to ONE little girl in the yellow dress, Vanessa was able to feel comfortable in school, make friends and enjoy her new neighborhood. All it takes is ONE. Who would you want to be friends with…..the boy who behaved badly towards Vanessa or the girl in the yellow dress?

Let’s talk about Vanessa’s story for a minute… What happened to Vanessa on her walk home that first week of school? Was that a type of bullying behavior? Why or Why not?

Talk about bullying, that bullying is when someone does something on purpose to make you feel bad or hurts you and it’s hard to stop. Bullying can be hitting or pushing, teasing or calling names, taking things without permission, saying things about people behind their back or not letting them play Bullying behaviors makes people feel sad, mad or scared.

Do you think she told her parents? How do you think she feels?

Walk away-

If you aren’t there they can’t bully you. Ignoring the bully works well, especially if you are able to walk away. Ignore- A bully is looking for a reaction from you. If you ignore them, you aren't giving them what they are looking for and they may leave you alone. Lots of time students try to ignore but they still give the bully the reaction he / she is looking for. There are many ways your body language shows how you are feeling. Tell an adult -bullying can easily get worse... If you are being bullied and it is not stopping, it is important to let an adult you know and trust, know.

What did the girl in the yellow dress do? Was she an upstander? What about at first…. We know that at first, she wasn’t sure what to do. It took her some time to figure out how to help. It can be very hard. What would you do in this situation? It’s OK if we sometimes don’t know what to do in the moment. But always remember that even something small can make a big difference. And you can ALWAYS, ALWAYS talk to a TRUSTED ADULT.

Now, let’s take a moment to think about what kind of behaviors we want to see in our own classrooms. This is what a respectful classroom looks like.

Don’ts: Don’t use your body for hurting others. No hitting, pushing, tripping, pulling, pinching, kicking....

Don’t use your mouth to hurt others. If you have nothing nice to say DON’T say it.

Don’t leave anyone out -even if they look or act differently from you

DO’s DO use your body to help others if they need it (to carry stuff, to clean up, to give high fives or elbow greetings)

DO say kind things to your classmates. Tell someone if they make you happy and let them know you appreciate them.

DO include everyone if you can...if you see someone being left out, ask a teacher for help or ask that person to join. A simple smile can also make someone happy.

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