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Ronkonkoma Middle School

Anti-Bullying Resources

 

Mission Statement
The Connetquot Central School District of Islip is committed to raising the awareness of the issue of bullying in our schools. Our mission is to help parents, teachers, students and the community address this problem. We aspire to eradicate bullying in all district buildings and create mutual respect in the Connetquot community.

RMS DASA COORDINATORS

Joseph Licato – Principal
Kimberly Nofi- School Social Worker
Kaitlin Carlino – Guidance Counselor
Tanya Vassallo – Guidance Counselor
Tara DiMaio- Guidance Counselor


DASA TASK FORCE COMMITTEE
Brian Wrinkle - Assistant Principal
Tracey Ames – Psychologist
Christopher D’Andria – Health/PE Teacher
Judey LaRocca- TA
Margaret Matzen – SE Teacher
Kerri Moreland – Psychologist
Michael Murphy – Music Teacher
Jennifer Pluth – English Teacher
Ann Roth – Secretary
Debra Smith – Science Teacher
Grace Sullivan – Science Teacher
Susan Tomassone – Art Teacher
Suzanne Volkman – Math Teacher
Hallie Weil – English Teacher

What is bullying?
Bullying is aggressive behavior that is persistent, intentional and involves an imbalance of power or strength.  Traditionally bullying involves actions such as hitting, teasing, and or intimidation through social exclusion.  In addition, cyberbullying is bullying through the electronic media.

The four types of bullying are:

  • Physical         
  • Verbal  
  • Cyber  
  • Relational  

 
What are the possible warning signs of bullying?
Warning signs for parents may include, but are not limited to, when your child:

  • Comes home with damaged or missing clothing or other belongings
  • Reports losing items such as books, electronics, clothing, or jewelry
  • Has unexplained injuries
  • Complains frequently of headaches, stomach-aches, or feeling sick
  • Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams
  • Has changes in eating habits
  • Hurts himself or herself
  • Is very hungry after school from not eating their lunch
  • Runs away from home
  • Loses interest in visiting or talking with friends
  • Is afraid of going to school or other activities with peers
  • Loses interest in school work or begins to do poorly in school
  • Appears sad, moody, angry, anxious or depressed when they come home
  • Talks about suicide
  • Feels helpless
  • Often feels like they are not good enough
  • Blames themselves for their problems
  • Suddenly has fewer friends
  • Avoids certain places
  • Acts differently

If you suspect your child is involved in bullying behavior, please consider the following:

  • Discuss your concerns with your child
  • Determine if your child has been having any particular problems with other children
  • Assess if your child is experiencing difficulties in other areas
  • Assist your child in understanding the serious nature and consequences of bullying behavior
  • Contact your child’s school if you need additional assistance and/or support
  • Share your concerns with your child’s teacher or any other significant adult (YFS Coordinator, Guidance Counselor, Psychologist, teacher, coach, scout-leader etc.)
  • How can you help your child?
  • Give strategies for the target/victim:
  • Ignore or walk away
  • Assertively tell the person to stop and then walk away
  • Warn that you will get help from an adult and then walk away
  • Get help - clearly tell an adult what has happened

 

Offer Support:
Speak to your child privately.  Learn about what’s been going on.  Listen, get the facts and assess your child's feelings about the bullying.  Is this the first time he or she has been hurt by bullying or is this something that has been going on for a while?  Assure your child that it is not his or her fault.

Praise your child for their courage to discuss bullying incidents with you.  Explain how helpful they are being by providing this important information.

Cyberbullying

A Digital Footprint - Remember that YouTube, Facebook, and Smart Phones are instantaneous and last forever!

Did You Know?

93% of all children between 12-17 use the internet
32% of teens clear their browser history to hide information from their parents
16% of teens have created private emails and social network pages to hide information from their parents
20% of teens have engaged in cyberbullying
42% of parents do not review the content of their child’s internet access
30% of parents allow their children to use the computer in unsupervised areas

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying can be:

  • Sending mean, vulgar, or threatening messages or images
  • Posting sensitive, private information and/or lies about another person
  • Pretending to be someone else in order to make that person look bad
  • Intentionally excluding someone from an online group

Where does Cyberbullying occur?

Email, instant messaging, text, digital images, social network sites (Facebook, Club Penguin, Twitter, Oovoo, AIM), Web pages, Blogs, Chat rooms

Types of Cyberbullying

  • Identity theft - fake profiles might be set up pretending to be an individual with the sole aim of bullying others
  • Chat rooms, blogs and forums - although you are supposed to be at least 13 years of age, very few are monitored
  • Pictures and photo sharing – videos of girls or boys dressing and undressing in the locker room, etc.
  • Text messages and E-mails that are abusive or threatening
  • Social media networks, such as Facebook, that post offensive messages about others

What can parents do about Cyberbullying?

  • Encourage your child to talk about their friends and share their day
  • Don’t overreact until you are sure about the situation
  • Encourage your child to share any abusive or offensive material sent to them via the internet or phone
  • Turn on safety features to ensure your family only receives messages from approved sources
  • Remember it is important to help your child solve the problem, include them in the solution
  • If the situation deems necessary, contact your local police department immediately

Related Links

Bullying:
CYBER TIPLINE/1-800-843-5678
Cyberbullying research center- http://www.cyberbullying.us/
Connect Safely- Smart Social media- http://www.connectsafely.org/
Onguard Online - http://www.onguardonline.gov

Safe Gaming:
http://netsmartz.org/Gaming

CyberSafety:
www.isafe.org

Netiquette:
http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2008-netiquette-guidelines