The Pledge to end bullying: Community Relations

Work Plan Entrant: Julie Maltby, Public Affairs Officer Organizations: Thames Valley District School Board and CTV London Division 1, Category 2: Communication Management Programs, Community Relations Time Period of Project: May 31, 2011 – Nov. 30, 2011 Entry Title: The Pledge 1. Brief Description In May, 2010, following the tragic death of a St. Thomas, Ontario student – where bullying was considered a factor – Bill Tucker, Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) Director of Education, established the Director’s Community Task Force on AntiBullying (“the Task Force”). A Report to the Community, released in June, 2011, summarized their coordinated strategies and initiatives to take action against bullying today and in the future. Among the recommendations was raising awareness about bullying and bullying prevention in the community. The Pledge campaign was implemented with unprecedented media collaboration, direct connections with individuals representing schools, not-for-profit organizations and businesses, a comprehensive website (www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge) and social media. Appendices include work samples and detailed measurements.

2. Need: The TVDSB oversees 166 schools in Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford counties. More than 70,000 students are enrolled in Thames Valley schools. Creating and maintaining a safe environment is integral to learning and social development; reducing the number of incidents of bullying and its negative impact is integral to achieving this organizational goal. However, incidents of bullying and responsibility for bullying prevention are not restricted to schools; they are community challenges. Raising awareness about bullying and bullying prevention was the first tactic to address the issue.

Research shows that bullying is pervasive and that technology and social networking have created new challenges in terms of addressing and managing the issue. In a 2009 Statistics Canada survey of Canadians aged 15 and older, nearly 10 per cent said they perceive themselves as victims of cyber-bullying, which is online bullying via social media, e-mailing and texting.

Opportunity: In 2010, the Ontario Government designated the third week of every November as Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week to help promote safer schools and a positive learning environment. From Nov. 13-19, 2011 Ontario students, school staff and parents were encouraged to learn more about bullying and its effect on student learning and well-being. This initiative builds on the Safe Schools education and activities already taking place in schools across the province.

The TVDSB Safe Schools team had already committed to an “Upstander” theme for education, communications and activities in the 2011-2012 school year. Research shows that when a peer speaks up against bullying, it stops within 10 seconds more than 50 per cent of the time (Hawkins, Peplar and Craig, 2001). This statistic supports the need to educate the entire community about safe ways to stand up to bullying. As “Upstanders,” students were asked to speak up or stand up when they see inappropriate behaviour.

Throughout the year, student leaders are modelling positive behaviour and planning activities to engage all students in becoming “Upstanders.” Teachers and support staff are integrating the “Upstander” message in curriculum and classroom activities.

While the “Upstander” campaign would raise awareness and educate students, the Task Force wanted to reach the entire community.

CTV London was represented on the Task Force and pitched the idea of “The Pledge to end bullying” to engage everyone in making a verbal commitment to end bullying behaviour. Task Force members unanimously agreed that The Pledge would be an excellent tactic.

Together, the “Upstander” and The Pledge campaigns encourage members of the TVDSB community to take the words spoken in The Pledge and put them into positive action. To integrate the school-based “Upstander” initiatives with the community-based Pledge campaign, in collaboration with Kate Young, Manager of Public Affairs and Community Relations, and the Safe Schools staff, we determined that The Pledge message needed to include two core commitments: to not engage in bullying behaviour and to stand up against bullying rather than be a bystander when witnessing bullying.

A key challenge and opportunity was to engage the media in helping to broadly share the message across Thames Valley without a budget for paid advertising. Having CTV London as lead partner was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The television station committed to developing and airing Public Service Announcements (PSAs), hosting the website and managing the Facebook page, all of which assisted tremendously with reaching our audience without financial resources. The challenge was enlisting the help of competing media in a relatively small market with a major media outlet recognized as the lead partner and sponsor of the campaign.

Finally, I was hired as Public Affairs Officer for TVDSB at the end of March, 2011, which provided an additional member to the team of two in Public Affairs at the Thames Valley Board. Kate assigned me to the role of co-chair of the campaign, along with Mandi Fields, community relations coordinator at CTV London.

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3. Intended Audience(s) and Audience Characteristics In a general sense, all members of the three counties represented within Thames Valley, aged five and older, were identified as members of our audience. The following is a list of target audiences.

Primary: 1. Members of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying, which included 12 women and 17 men representing organizations that address bullying in the community 2. Members of The Pledge organizing committee, which included eight women and four men in organizations connected to target audiences across the Thames Valley community 3. 27 members of the local print and broadcast media with audiences in London and the three counties in Thames Valley The primary audiences were keen to be involved in a solution to the problem of bullying, as they were already aware of the impact of bullying and engaged in the bullying message.

Secondary: 4. Students, teachers, staff, parents and volunteers of Thames Valley District School Board, including 70,500 students aged four to 17, and about 8,000 employees of various ages and ethnicities with post-secondary education 5. Students, teachers, staff, parents and volunteers of London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB), including 19,500 students aged four to 17 and 2,300 employees of various ages and ethnicities with post-secondary education 6. Prospective Community Partners, comprised of 101 businesses and organizations identified by the organizing committee Tertiary: 7. Residents aged five and older in Thames Valley (Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford Counties), totalling 577,010 individuals in both rural and urban centres of various ages, levels of education and ethnic backgrounds Final: 8. People from anywhere seeking information about bullying online (not possible to quantify or define) .

Given the diversity of the various publics, we drafted two Pledges: one for students up to Grade 7 and a second for teenagers and adults. The Pledge was intentionally simple in concept and wording with a meaningful message and call to action. There are just slight variations in the language, as it was important to maintain the key messages. The Pledge was made available in 11 languages – in schools and on the website – so that everyone in Thames Valley could participate in the community initiative.

Children up to Grade 7: “I believe that everybody has the right to feel safe, included, valued and accepted. I pledge to respect others and to stand up against and report bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Adults and children in Grade 7 and up: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

4. Goals and Objectives Goal of The Pledge: The Thames Valley District School Board seeks to provide a safe learning environment. The goal of The Pledge campaign was to reach members of the Thames Valley community with the coordinated and consistent message that bullying is unacceptable – in an effort to help bring an end to bullying behavior in schools and in the broader community.

Campaign Objectives: 1. Motivate a minimum of 10 per cent of the 577,010 (57,700) Thames Valley residents aged five and older (based on 2006 Census numbers) to make a commitment to end bullying by taking The Pledge between Sept. 13 and Nov. 30, 2011.

2. Develop a campaign framework that at least one other community uses or requests to implement by November, 2012.

3. Raise awareness about The Pledge via a minimum of 20 targeted media outlets across the three counties of Thames Valley (Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford) in the campaign by motivating them produce and run Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and provide editorial coverage of The Pledge between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2011.

4. Raise the profile of the TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention in the province of Ontario with a minimum of 100 traditional and social media references to The Pledge, and/or positive messages about the efforts of TVDSB to reduce bullying in schools and in the broader community, between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2011.

5. Coordinate the community-based Pledge campaign with the school-based “Upstander” campaign so that all TVDSB schools incorporate The Pledge as part of the Safe Schools “Upstander” activities and educational programming during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011).

While reducing the incidents of bullying is an organizational goal, I did not address this objective as part of The Pledge campaign because it would not be possible to tie the campaign directly to the outcome. The Pledge was one of many organizational initiatives running simultaneously. A survey is issued every three years to capture students’ perceptions and awareness of the issue and tendency to report bullying, but the Board is not able to track every bullying incident so there is no baseline for accurate measurement.

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5. Solution Overview The Pledge was our solution to raising public consciousness about the issue of bullying across Thames Valley. The website was created as the central campaign presence where community members could find and take The Pledge and be listed as Community Partners to give everyone a sense of belonging and engagement. The website also provided background information about The Pledge, helpful resources and key messages and acknowledged the contributions of the Media Partners.

We assembled an Organizing Committee to personally connect with key publics and solicited media support to reach the remainder of the community with the call to take The Pledge. Our strategy included the following actions:  Recruit an ethnically diverse Organizing Committee of men and women with useful skills, such as social networking and anti-bullying expertise, to engage Community Partners in business, not-for-profit organizations, schools and organized labour across Thames Valley in taking The Pledge. (See Appendix A for the Terms of Reference.)  Research and compile a list of media across Thames Valley to invite to a meeting to present The Pledge and gauge their interest in supporting the campaign with PSAs and editorial coverage  Write the Media Information sheet (Appendix B) so that prospective Media Partners could make an informed commitment  Follow up with emails, including the Media Information sheet, and phone calls to those who didn’t attend the meeting  Meet again with the media to coordinate key messages about bullying that each would incorporate into editorial and PSAs  Invite radio personalities at stations across Thames Valley take The Pledge live on the air at 7:55 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 14 – the first day of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week  Encourage all TVDSB and LDCSB schools to take The Pledge at 10 a.m. that day to create a “magic moment” that schools and other organizations would want to participate in and that the media would surely cover With the support of Barb Sonier, Kate Young and John Mombourquette (LDCSB Superintendent), we contacted principals and vice principals across the system to request that they work with student leaders and Safe Schools staff liaisons within their schools to incorporate The Pledge into their planned activities for Bullying Awareness and Prevention week. The media was provided a list of events and activities in their communities so that they could choose which to cover. (See Appendix C for a sample of TVDSB and LDCSB initiatives.) I worked with the TVDSB Electronic Publishing and Graphics team to design posters as well as certificates for every elementary student who took The Pledge and bookmarks for high school students as permanent reminders of their commitment.

6. Implementation and Challenges To implement such a multi-faceted campaign, Mandi and I divided tasks. She oversaw the scheduling of recording times with the media for their PSAs, and the creation of the logo, two CTV London PSAs and the website design by CTV staff. As the co-chair representing TVDSB, and as the primary liaison with Organizing Committee members, I:  Managed the electronic communications with media, wrote and distributed media releases throughout the campaign (Appendix D), and coordinated interviews with members of the Organizing Committee, Director Tucker and students  Researched and wrote the website content (Appendix E)  Managed the progress of the Organizing Committee in connecting with community organizations and influential individuals  Acted as the liaison with the schools to track events and provide updates to the CTV London webmaster On Sept. 13, CTV London launched The Pledge website. Organizing Committee member Brian Blatnicki started tweeting messages about The Pledge on Twitter. Mandi monitored The Pledge to End Bullying Facebook page. The schools and other organizations managed activities associated with taking The Pledge and registered their numbers online. Anyone visiting The Pledge website to take and/or register their pledge(s) would see they were part of an exciting community-wide initiative.

The greatest challenge was the differing vision between TVDSB and CTV London of The Pledge as an event and the resources available. TVDSB had little discretionary money for the campaign and I had to manage my time wisely to fit in the many added tasks with my job responsibilities. When Mandi approached us about hosting a large event that would require monetary sponsorship, we couldn’t commit. In a meeting with Kate, I learned that Public Affairs did not have a budget for an expensive event – even if it was largely sponsored by CTV and other businesses – and that we needed to consider how allocating money this way may be perceived by taxpayers. (See Appendix F for a summary of tactics and the budget.)

Mandi and Cal Johnstone, CTV News Director and member of the Task Force, suggested we focus on one day when the whole community could take The Pledge simultaneously. This was cost-effective and would create a shared moment to engage the community and attract the media. We presented the idea to the Organizing Committee and all members were enthusiastic and ready to approach their networks, armed with the Community Partners Information sheet (Appendix G) that was updated to reflect the event.

TVDSB’s Electronic Publishing and Graphics department designed certificates and bookmarks as a lasting reminder of the students’ commitment. They also extended the awareness and opportunities for further discussion with parents – as children would take the mementos home. Seeing the value in these materials, Barb committed funds from the Safe Schools budget. (Appendix H).

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7. Measurement of Outcomes and Outputs In consultation with Director Tucker and Kate, I set the goal for the campaign and then I researched and determined the objectives. By identifying specific, measurable and time-limited objectives that linked directly with an important TVDSB goal to create safe learning environments for all students and employees, I was able to show that The Pledge campaign successfully positioned TVDSB as a proactive leader in addressing this community issue and that the community was moved to take action.

Objective 1. Motivate a minimum of 10 per cent of the 577,010 (57,700) Thames Valley residents aged five and older to make a commitment to end bullying by taking The Pledge between Sept. 13 and Nov. 30, 2011.

2. Develop a campaign framework that at least one other community uses or requests to implement by November, 2012.

Outcome(s) 63,450 people had registered their Pledge on the official website as of November 30, 2011, many as members of participating organizations.

All are recognized as Community Partners. As of Feb. 27, 2012, that number has risen to 70,123.  CTV Barrie launched The Pledge website with its own version of the anti-bullying pledge in November, 2011  The Ontario Ministry of Education requested that our Board prepare a “tool kit” so that other boards can implement The Pledge campaign in their communities and “Upstander” campaign in their schools 3. Raise awareness about The Pledge via a minimum The Pledge was covered by at least 24 media outlets*. (A sample of of 20 targeted media outlets across the three counties radio websites promoting The Pledge on Nov. 14 is attached as of Thames Valley (Elgin, London-Middlesex and Appendix I and a sample of media coverage is attached as Appendix J.) Oxford) in the campaign by motivating them to All media was “earned media” as no money was spent on PSAs; they produce and run Public Service Announcements and were the result of CTV London’s commitment to the campaign and relationship building with other media. (See the certificate of recognition provide editorial coverage of The Pledge between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2011. presented to each Media Partner at a wrap-up party as Appendix K.) 4. Raise the profile of the TVDSB as a leader in We are aware of 44 unique PSAs and editorial stories about The Pledge, bullying prevention in the province of Ontario with a many of which were repeated throughout the period from Sept. 12- Nov. minimum of 100 traditional and social media 19, 2011, so the traditional media appearances alone exceeded the set references to The Pledge, and/or positive messages objective*. It will take time to collect data to quantify the Social Media about the efforts of TVDSB to reduce bullying in outcomes, but a brief review indicates there were 188 tweets on Twitter schools and in the broader community, between Sept. to 176 followers. On Facebook, “The Pledge to end bullying” page has 1 and Dec. 31, 2011.

662 fans who could read consistent and frequent posts during the campaign period.

5. Coordinate the community-based Pledge campaign All 166 schools took The Pledge with their students during Bullying with the school-based “Upstander” campaign so that Awareness and Prevention Week in November. In a survey distributed in all TVDSB schools incorporate The Pledge as part of December, 103 schools reported that they held assemblies and a variety the Safe Schools “Upstander” activities and of other activities to support The Pledge and “Upstander” campaigns. educational programming.

Eighty-four per cent of principals reported positive behavioral changes and/or increased awareness as positive outcomes. * Note: TVDSB relies on Google Alerts and personal notifications to learn about media hits so estimates of media coverage are certainly lower than the reality.

It’s not possible to directly link the Pledges registered on the website with the eight media releases distributed and picked up by the media, as there were many ongoing communications throughout the campaign, including an average of six PSAs running on CTV daily from Sept. 12 – Nov. 18 and frequent PSAs on partnering media stations, websites and in print. In addition, Brian tweeted several times daily on Twitter and several community organizations posted notices about The Pledge on their websites. (See Appendix L.) I made an effort to track the number of Pledges registered when media releases were picked up. (See Appendix M.) The communications and activities of TVDSB and LDCSB schools account for tens of thousands of Pledges and media collaboration was integral to the success of reaching and moving Thames Valley citizens beyond the schools to take and register their Pledge online. (See the list of Community Partners on the website: http://ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge/communitypartnerlist.html.) With the win of the National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award – presented by the U.S.-based School Safety Advocacy Council – the media coverage continued, which increased public awareness about the issue of bullying and bullying prevention and TVDSB was once again identified as a proactive leader in the effort to bring an end to bullying.

While it is too early to see a statistically significant reduction in incidents of bullying, preliminary feedback from key stakeholders – including CTV London, organizations represented on the Task Force, members of The Pledge Organizing Committee and members of the schools – indicates that there has been a significant impact on people’s level of awareness about bullying and our media partners tell us the collaborative coverage of the message is unprecedented.

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Terms of Reference for The Pledge Organizing Committee Name of group Membership and appointment

Chairing

Frequency, purpose and location of meetings

Record of meetings Reporting mechanism Functions & delegated authority

The Pledge Organizing Committee o The Committee will be comprised of 10-12 Members; o Staff members from the Public Affairs Office, Mandi Fields of CTV Two (formerly /A\ London) and members of the Anti-Bullying Task Force will provide names for consideration and recruitment; o Collectively, Members will represent communities across Thames Valley; o Members will be invited by Public Affairs staff or Task Force members by Aug. 15 to attend the inaugural meeting in mid-August. o The Committee will be active until the end of November.

The Committee will be chaired by: o Mandi Fields, Community Relations Coordinator with CTV Two and o Julie Maltby, Public Affairs Officer with the Thames Valley District School Board Chairs are responsible for: o Chairing the Committee meetings (alternately) o Maintaining a current master list of participating organizations and Pledge Ambassadors o Coordinating media coverage o Liaising with Pledge Ambassadors, sponsors, Safe Schools personnel at the TVDSB and other community partners o Overseeing The Pledge website o Overseeing The Pledge event o We estimate four meetings, held monthly in August – November. o The meetings will serve as a check-in for status updates. Otherwise, Members will stay connected via group e-mails, and individual phone calls and e-mails when necessary. o Meetings will take place at CTV London at 1 Communications Road, London and remote attendance (via telephone) will be available. o Time and duration: Meetings will last for one hour at the end of the business day (Start time: 3 p.m. or later depending upon the preference of the majority of members.) o Minutes will be recorded by one of the Co-Chairs (who will share this responsibility equally).

The Co-chairs will appreciate timely verbal reports (by phone) or written reports (by e-mail) when there is news and/or developments or commitments that will affect The Pledge campaign.

Each of the following functions are to be coordinated through the Co-Chairs in a timely way: o Identify and approach prospective participating organizations and report outcomes to Julie Maltby, Co-Chair; o Recruit Pledge Ambassadors from community organizations and report outcomes to Julie Maltby, Co-Chair; o Recruit potential campaign/event sponsors and report outcomes to Mandi Fields, Co-Chair ; o Help plan the event (to be held during week of Nov. 14-18); o Be available for media interviews. o Estimated time requirement: 5-10 hours, depending upon the number of organizations contacted/visited and the scale of the November event.

Appendix A

Media Information Just over a year ago, The Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying was formed to try to find ways to address the bullying issue in our community. The Task Force was made up of 15 agencies throughout Thames Valley including police, Children’s Aid Societies, health professionals and anti-bullying coalitions.

In November 2010, the Task Force held an anti-bullying community discussion called “Let’s All End Bullying” to identify key strategies that members of the community believe are effective in preventing and responding to bullying.

Almost 600 members of three communities (London, St. Thomas and Woodstock) gathered and provided more than 2000 suggestions on how children and youth services, community organizations, health professionals, the media, parents, police and justice, schools and students can prevent and respond to bullying.

Community Feedback: o Participants suggested that almost all of the community groups who belong to the task force can play a part in preventing and responding to bullying by educating children and youth.

Offering programs, services and activities to youth was viewed as very important by the participants. A key message from the report is that community groups need to work together to address the issue of bullying. o The Report to the Community highlights how each organization will tackle the issue of bullying in the future. A number of groups have taken the opportunity to refine what they are already doing, while others have used the report as a springboard for new initiatives within their organizations and with other community partners.

What’s next? o We are asking all media in the Thames Valley area (Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford Counties) to join us in a new initiative called “The Pledge.” We hope you will join us in encouraging all members of the Thames Valley community to take a pledge against bullying. o We have written two versions of The Pledge – one for young children and one for teenagers and adults – to apply everywhere, anytime – including schools, workplaces and at home.

Children aged 13+ and adults: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Children up to 13: “I believe that everybody has the right to feel safe, included, valued and accepted. I pledge to respect others and to stand up against and report bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Appendix B

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What’s next? … continued o A logo has been designed to brand the campaign in print and online media. o A website has been created to provide information about bullying, links to helpful resources and participating media and a tracking system so that participating organizations can record their progress in taking The Pledge: www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge How can your media outlet help? o PSAs/advertorials starting in September to raise awareness about The Pledge; o News stories about bullying during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011). The TVDSB Public Affairs Office and the Committee members will identify people to profile for media stories, i.e. reformed bullies, victims of bullies, “Upstanders” (who choose to stand up against bullying instead of standing by and watching inappropriate behaviour happen), experts in bullying and aggressive behaviour, etc.; o Morning crews at local radio stations take The Pledge on air at 7:55 a.m. on Monday, November 14 so that no matter what station community members tune into in their cars and in their workplaces, they’ll hear about The Pledge. We’ll also provide a member of the Committee to come to the studio to talk about the campaign on the air; o We’ll arrange for Pledge Ambassadors, to be identified in participating organizations, for photos and interviews when they can report 100% participation in The Pledge at their organization; o We hope to celebrate the success of The Pledge at a community event during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. o Any ideas your media outlet can think of to encourage people in the community to take The Pledge!

The Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying has set a new standard for community discussion on this important issue and has been recognized by the Ministry of Education as a unique and creative approach to the school board’s effort to work with the community to eliminate bullying behaviour everywhere.

We need the support of all media in Thames Valley to help end bullying in our community!

Mandi Fields (Co-chair) CTV (formerly /A\ London) 519-686-8822, ext. 7243 mandi.fields@bellmedia.ca

Julie Maltby (Co-chair) Thames Valley District School Board 519-452-2000, ext. 20210 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca

Appendix B

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www.tvdsb.ca/EndBullying Schools with anti-bullying programming, including The Pledge, during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011)  All TVDSB schools are displaying posters about The Pledge, which include the wording of The Pledge written for their age group and the URL to the website.  Each elementary student will be given a signed certificate once they’ve taken The Pledge.  All secondary students will receive a bookmark as a constant reminder of their commitment to stand up against bullying.  More than 8,500 Upstander t-shirts will be worn by students, teachers, staff and administrators across the Thames Valley district during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.

Secondary Schools: Arthur Voaden Secondary School, St. Thomas 519-631-3770 Contact: Laura Lee Principal: Judy Thorner    

Monday, Nov. 14: Four students will read The Pledge on the P.A. system at 10 a.m.

Giant sheets of paper will be posted so that students can write what they stand for.

Everyone will enjoy black and white cookies (to correspond with the black and white “Upstander” t-shirts that students will be wearing).

Throughout the day, announcements will ask everyone to stop what they’re doing so that they can hear a student on the P.A. tell them what s/he stands for and then everyone will be directed to tell someone nearby what they stand up for.

Other “Upstander” activities are planned for the remainder of Bullying Prevention and Awareness Week.

East Elgin Secondary School, Aylmer 519-773-3174 Principal: Brendon White Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.: The school will come together to take The Pledge Tuesday, Nov. 15, 16 and 17: The school will hold “Challenge Days” when two facilitators from California will spend the day with Grade 10 students, police, staff members and representatives from the anti-bullying coalition to build community culture.

Huron Park Secondary School, Woodstock 519-537-2347 Contact: Brenda DeGier, ext. 65382 Secondary Contact: Vice Principal Margaret Sullivan Thursday, Nov. 3: A huge banner with The Pledge written on it was hung in the main hallway.

Friday, Nov. 4: A series of announcements begins, to get the word out about The Pledge.

Students are being invited to sign their own pledge during lunch periods next week. At the time they sign, they will be provided with the bookmark provided in the principal's kit (has the pledge written on it).

Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.: The whole community is going to collectively recite The Pledge in unison.

The paper pledges the students signed the previous week will be displayed near the Safe Schools and GSA bulletin boards.

Appendix C

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Montcalm Secondary School, London 519-452-2730 Principal: Kathy Furlong Secondary contact: Bessie Fragis Various groups in the school are organizing events for every day during the week of November 14-17.

Below is the outline of the assembly on Monday, Nov. 14: 1. Students proceed to the auditorium beginning 9:45 a.m.

2. Representative from Student Council to welcome and introduce guest speaker Leroy Hibbert of LUSO 3. Introduce The Pledge 4. Take The Pledge 5. Slide show presentation with Montcalm Students and the choir singing 'Lean On Me' 6. Students will return to their classrooms.

At that point all students will sign the pledge and the signatures will be collected for a final count. Other “Upstander” activities are planned for the remainder of Bullying Prevention and Awareness Week.

Regina Mundi Catholic College, London 519-660-2797 Vice Principal Stan Verschoore, ext. 23003 Among a week of activities, the following is related to The Pledge: Pledge Signing: Students will sign a pledge to stop bullying.

Signatures were added to a 4’ by 8’ banner that was posted on the wall for all to see.

This was followed up by daily /weekly reminders throughout the school year of The Pledge and the things to do to improve school climate and to stop bullying as the school administration wants the effort to last more than one week.

Saunders Secondary School, London 519-452-2770 Vice Principal: Christine Vitsentzatos, ext. 62014 Secondary contact: Principal Patty Thompson Monday, Nov. 14: London Mayor Joe Fontana is going to London's biggest high school to kick off its Anti-Bullying Campaign as they take The Pledge! At The Pledge assembly students will hear an anti bullying message from former CFL Argo, Chuck Winters.

Saunders students will also be on stage to reinforce their anti bullying Pledge!

Elementary Schools: C.C. Carrothers Public School, London 519-452-8110 Vice Principal: Sally Goulart Secondary Contact: Kim Wright Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.: All students will gather in the gym to take The Pledge together. Parents, friends and family will be invited, too. A table will be set up outside the gym door with anti-bullying resources.

Elgin Court Public School, St. Thomas 519-631-7118 Principal: Jim Bowden Monday, Nov. 14: MPP Jeff Yurek will be participating in the reading of The Pledge

Appendix C

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Forest Park Public School, St. Thomas 519-631-3563 Vice Principal: Esther Wendel-Caraher Monday, Nov. 14: 9 a.m.

Upstander T-shirts handed out to every child in the school Teachers in classroom discuss the relevance/activity

10 a.m.

Whole school will take The Pledge in the gym

10:30-11:30 a.m.

Parent seminar in the library

10:30-11:45 a.m.

12:45-2:00 p.m.

Intermediate student lead drama presentations Commercial contests in the classroom (Intermediates created commercials to promote the role of the “Upstander”) UPower concert-Sarah Westbrook (Junior/Intermediate students)

2:30-3:15 p.m.

UPower concert-Sarah Westbrook (Primary Students)

Holy Family Catholic French Immersion School, Woodstock (LDCSB) 519-675-4414 Principal: Gerarda Smith-Hillier On Monday, Nov. 14 at 1:00 p.m. the school held an assembly to combine the launch of its Peacekeeper Club / Gardiens de la Paix (peer conflict mediators) with the taking of The Pledge. The gardiens de la paix put on a skit to teach students how to resolve their problems. The goal was to get students talking about various ways to solve their conflicts in a peaceful manner and to get them learning the problem solving model.

Northridge Public School, London 519-452-8440 Vice Principal: Jane Silverio Monday, Nov. 14: At The Pledge assembly at 10:45 a.m., Northridge students will sing "Be An Upstander," an original song, with lyrics and music written by Jane Burkman, music teacher. Students will be wearing pink that day as a school initiative against bullying.

Norwich Public School, Norwich 519-863-2741 Jessica Falkingham Monday, Nov. 14: ‘Pledge to End Bullying’ Day for students in Grades 3 - 8. The students will rotate through a variety of 30-minute learning centres all related to the importance of becoming an “Upstander” to end bullying. Each group of will consist of students from all of the grades.

A Kick-off Assembly will start the day and then the learning centers will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will continue until 3:15 p.m.

At the end of the day all of our students will join together to sign a ‘School Pledge to End Bullying’ banner.

Monsignor O’Neil Catholic School, Tillsonburg (LDCSB) 519-660-2772 Principal: Paula Vanderhyden Grade 5 and 6/7 classes made a connection with two classes from St. Anne’s school in St. Thomas. They created a multi-media piece of art that shows how together we can make a positive change in our school and community. Specifically, the students were put into groups to discuss what bullying looks like, feels like and sounds like and discussed ways to live out The Pledge.

Appendix C

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On Monday, Nov. 14, the creations were presented at the school’s Pledge assembly when they introduced the school theme of Interdependence and Belonging. On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the two classes from this school Skyped with the two classes from St.Anne’s school. During the Skype they shared their projects and talked about the learning process and Pledge messages between communities.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau French Immersion Public School, St. Thomas 519-631-7820 Principal: Connie Cordes Monday, Nov. 14: The Pledge will be read in morning announcements in French and English.

Tuesday, Nov. 15: A full school assembly will showcase mixed media presentations created by intermediate students.

Royal Roads Public School, Ingersoll 519-485-4849 Contact: Francine Overeem Secondary Contact: Principal Anne Marie Luce Monday, Nov. 14: Mayor Ted Comiskey and Deputy Mayor Bill McKinnon will make a little speech and the Mayor will be lead the community in taking The Pledge. The assembly will also include a video and the Safe Schools Committee will talk about what an “Upstander” is and speak about the nine ways to be an Upstander. Following The Pledge, the Grade 8 students will be doing a flash mob to the song "Just the way you are by" Bruno Mars.

St. Patrick Catholic School, Lucan (LDCSB) 519- 660-2789 Principal Maria G. Giampa The following is an excerpt from a newsletter sent home to parents: SAFE SCHOOLS for ALL: Anti– Bullying Week Nov. 14– 18 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.”—- Gospel of Matthew 18:15 Anti– Bullying Week at St. Patrick Catholic School kicks off with our taking THE PLEDGE to end bullying in our school environment. On Nov. 14 every classroom will take the pledge which has been written to meet the developmental understandings of our students and from a Catholic perspective. All staff will take the pledge as will all trustees at the Nov. 14 board meeting.

Additionally, we will be having a focus on eradicating gossip from our school for one whole day on Nov. 15. Students will have an assembly on Nov. 14 at 2:40 where they will learn about what the bible says about dealing with conflict (Matthew 18: 15) and the serious consequences of gossip. They will also be treated to a staff skit on adult forms of gossip as well as a student skit on children’s gossip. Our school council is in full support of this initiative. We are all involved in the dangerous activity of gossip which in some cases has tragic results in our society. Please be a part of the solution and discuss this topic with your children. Eradicate gossip form our home, school and work lives. If someone isn’t in the room we can’t speak ill of them. Here is a link to an article regarding the toxic effects of gossip form the American Psychological Association. School Yard Blues: Impact of Gossip and Bullying ([ http://www.apa.org/research.action/blues.aspx ]www.apa.org/research.action/blues.aspx).

Please contact your child’s teacher or the principal if you have any concerns.

Valleyview Public School, Ilderton 519-666-1417 Principal: Bruce Travnicek Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.: The whole school will take The Pledge.

The Pledge has been promoted in the school newsletter and parents have been made aware of the initiative, and invited to participate, via the Parent Council.

Appendix C

4

Victoria Public School, London 519-452-8640 Principal: Vivienne Bell McCaig Secondary Contact: Sarah Carp Students will take The Pledge on Monday, Nov. 14. Additional information:  Grades 4 & 5 students being trained with conflict resolution skills.  Relational aggression issues: Grade 7 girls model good behaviour with Grade 1 girls to teach older girls ways to be respectful and kind.  Public Health Unit’s “School Traveling Plan” provided three nursing students to help student “blockers” to incorporate more walking in our school with walking patrollers to keep kids safe as they walk to and from school.

Westminster Central Public School, London 519-452-2900 Contact: Edward Smith 1. Monday, Oct. 24: 9:05 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

All students painted murals for display around the school during TVDSB's anti-bullying campaign (Nov 14-18).

2. Monday, Nov. 14: 9:45 - 10 a.m.

Students, in their small groups, post their mural in the school (classroom or office or corridor or lunchroom or gym), then report to the gym.

3. Monday, Nov 14: 10 - 10:05 a.m.

The Pledge, led by Aaron Legault (Grade 7 student leader), will be recited in gym by all students and staff.

4. Monday, Nov 14: 10:05 - 10:45 a.m.

Using the bulletin board at the West Wing hall, those who have taken The Pledge, trace a handprint on it and print/sign their name inside the hand print. Mr. Edwards' Grade 7/8 class will get the bulletin board ready with the text of The Pledge printed in the centre.

Other info: Community members will be invited to attend the school on Nov. 14 to participate in taking The Pledge, tour the school to see the displays of murals and add their handprint.

Appendix C

5

Media Releases Appendix D is comprised of the following 10 pages

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

TVDSB Director pledges to continue anti-bullying work Tuesday, June 28, 2011 – Thames Valley District School Board Director Bill Tucker will be releasing a report at tonight’s Board meeting detailing the commitment to carry on the work of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying.

The committee has disbanded, but Tucker assures the community that the work to end bullying in Thames Valley is far from over.

“The task force on anti-bullying has set a new standard for community discussion on this important issue. The report highlights how each organization will tackle the issue of bullying in the future,” Tucker says.

He adds that the report summarizes the work and dedication of a unique partnership to address a community problem. “A number of groups have taken the opportunity to refine what they are already doing, while others have used the report as a springboard for new initiatives within their organizations and with other community partners.”

The anti-bullying actions and commitments of the 15 organizations represented on the task force are outlined in the 17-page report. Future plans include increasing education on cyber-bullying and implementing a community-wide campaign that Tucker hopes will engage individuals from all sectors – including businesses, non-profit organizations and schools.

Community leaders representing area police, anti-bullying groups, children’s services, the media, parent groups and the youth justice system have been working together on the task force since May 2010 to tackle the problem of bullying in our community.

For More Information: Kate Young, Manager of Public Affairs & Community Relations Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20209 Cell: 519-630-6777 kate.young@tvdsb.on.ca

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

New website invites Thames Valley to take The Pledge September 13, 2011 – All residents in Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties are being encouraged to take The Pledge to end bullying in schools, at work and at home and to register their pledge on a special website just launched.

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and CTV London (formerly /A\ Channel) are working with local partners, including the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) and London and St. Thomas anti-bullying coalitions, to lead this awareness raising campaign to help stop bullying in our community.

Mandi Fields, Community Relations Coordinator at CTV London, is co-chairing the initiative with Julie Maltby, TVDSB Public Affairs Officer. CTV London, as a member organization of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying, pitched the idea of The Pledge. “We proposed the idea of The Pledge as an effort to empower the community to do something about the problem of bullying.

“Never before has there been an initiative like this in London and surrounding communities involving all media organizations to directly address the devastating effects bullying has on our community. We're thrilled that each organization involved has taken The Pledge to work together on such an important initiative,” Fields says.

The TVDSB is also enthusiastic about taking a lead role in The Pledge. Superintendent Barb Sonier, who oversees Safe Schools across the district, says that a key message in the Task Force’s Report to the Community, released in June, is that community groups need to work together to address the issue of bullying.

“Our Director's vision was for the mobilization of the entire community to wrap itself around the problem of bullying. Our challenge is for everyone who has been a bystander to become an “upstander,” to stand up to inappropriate behaviours that occur in our schools and in our communities and to deal with these issues in a meaningful way.

“Our job will never be done until respect, empathy, acceptance and caring become a part of everything we do,” says Sonier.

John Mombourquette, LDCSB Superintendent for Safe Schools, echoed Sonier’s comments. “From the Catholic system’s perspective, we welcome The Pledge as an opportunity to engage the broader community in a vibrant discussion on identifying concrete ways to ensure safe and inclusive schools.”

Prior to this community campaign, students and staff at Mountsfield Public School took a similar pledge in February, 2010. Principal Patti Baker says she has seen a positive change in attitudes at the school ever since. “I think the kids are definitely more reflective and considerate. They stop and look at how they can make a difference. The pledge gives the kids the ownership. If you speak it, you own it. I think it’s an ongoing process, but the pledge will help open up the communication.”

Every individual in Thames Valley is encouraged to take The Pledge before or during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, which runs from November 14-18, 2011. CTV London is hosting The Pledge website at http://ctvlondon.ca. Please visit the site to learn more about how you or your business or organization can participate in this community-wide effort to help end bullying.

For More Information: Julie Maltby, Public Affairs Officer and Co-Chair of The Pledge Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20210 Cell: 226-268-6560 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca Mandi Fields, Community Relations Coordinator and Co-Chair of The Pledge CTV London, 1 Communications road, London N6J 4Z1 519 686 8822 x 7243 mandi.fields@bellmedia.ca

Background The Pledge: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Part of the mission of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying was to increase awareness of bullying prevention. The Pledge is a community-wide initiative that seeks to raise the public’s consciousness about bullying – in schools, at work and at home.

An organizing committee is coordinating an extensive campaign across Thames Valley to reach as many citizens as possible so that they can participate in taking The Pledge to end bullying and register their commitment on the website.

Schools and organizations are invited to create at least one opportunity for their members (including students, employees, customers and volunteers) to come together to take The Pledge.

Schools at the London District Catholic School Board and the Thames Valley board will be taking The Pledge on Monday, November 14, which marks the beginning of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.

The media are collaborating to provide unprecedented support of The Pledge. Local television, radio and newspaper outlets will soon be running announcements, interviews and stories about bullying and how everyone can take The Pledge to bring an end to inappropriate behaviour everywhere.

In addition to creating meaningful opportunities for students and staff across Thames Valley to take The Pledge, Safe Schools initiatives will be teaching students that it’s not cool to be a bystander; becoming an “upstander” by helping victims whenever it’s safe to do so and by reporting bullying will help to bring an end to this problem.

Every individual in Thames Valley is encouraged to take The Pledge before or during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, which runs from November 14-18, 2011. The number of people who take The Pledge will be tracked on the website. Follow @Take_ThePledge on Twitter and check out The Pledge to end bullying on facebook.

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

Clara Brenton PS hosts musical anti-bullying group Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 – A two-man group known as The Acoustic Opera will help raise awareness of the negative impacts of bullying during live performances at London's Clara Brenton Public School tomorrow.

Touted as a ‘formal’ approach to anti-bullying, the tuxedo-clad duo use music to help explain how words and comments can be hurtful to others as they examine the impact that such actions can have on the school environment.

“This unique group seems to reach kids at their own level using music,” says Music Teacher Fran Gorbasew, who organized the event. “I was excited to see a new approach to anti bullying.”

David Anderson and Blake Fleischacker created The Acoustic Opera in March 2011. Since then, they have performed before more than 3,000 students at 15 elementary schools in six Ontario school boards. They are planning to debut a high school version in 2012 with a focus on social media and cyber-bullying.

Anderson and Fleischacker aim to cultivate a culture of respect and inclusiveness in an entertaining and engaging way, with many opportunities for students to interact with the performers through discussion and collaborative music.

Anderson says the Opera’s objectives tie in well with the current campaign by the Thames Valley District School Board and CTV London to engage schools and the community to take The Pledge to end bullying.

“We built The Acoustic Opera around the belief that we're all a little bit 'weird' sometimes,” says Anderson. “Everyone is unique and we believe that the little things that make us different than anyone else (and sometimes a little quirky) are the same things that make each one of us 'awesome'.

“Just like The Pledge, our focus is to help students to feel safe, included, valued and accepted both at school and in the community. The Acoustic Opera delivers this message to students in a way that is relevant and relatable. Students leave the program singing and smiling, and with specific strategies they can use to positively impact their school communities, and deal with some of the tougher situations at school,” Anderson says.

What: The Acoustic Opera performance When: Thursday, October 13, 2011 at the following times: 9:15 - 9:45 a.m. - Kindergarten 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Grades 1-3 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. - Grades 4-6 2:10 - 3:10 - Grades 7-8 Where: Clara Brenton Public School, 1025 St. Croix Ave., London For More Information: Francesca Gorbasew, Music Teacher Clara Brenton Public School, 1025 St Croix Avenue, London, ON N6A 5L1 519-452-8130 f.gorbasew@tvdsb.on.ca David Anderson, co-creator and performer/speaker of The Acoustic Opera 647-680-5548 david.s.anderson@me.com

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 – Mayors, radio personalities and a former Toronto Argonaut will be among thousands of people across the Thames Valley school district who will take The Pledge this week in a community-wide commitment to end bullying.

To date, more than 29,000 people have taken The Pledge and registered on the official website at www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge. People may also link to the site from www.tvdsb.ca/EndBullying.

The Thames Valley District School Board have been working with area news media, businesses, organizations, and schools to promote The Pledge as a way of raising public awareness and bringing an end to bullying in our community.

Residents of London and the counties of Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford have been asked to join together to recite the following words: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

(A simplified version has been written for children aged 13 and under.)

On Monday, Nov. 14, morning crews at local radio stations will take The Pledge live on-air at 7:55 a.m. Later, at 10 a.m., schools across the district will take The Pledge to help kick off Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, Nov. 14-18.

“Thirty years ago, people were drinking and driving without giving it a second thought,” says TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker. “With the help of public campaigns like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, people no longer see it as socially acceptable.

“We believe The Pledge can have the same kind of impact on people’s attitudes about bullying.”

Elsewhere, students and staff at Fanshawe College will be taking The Pledge and signing a large banner to mark their participation. Workers at CAMI Automotive in Ingersoll and General Motors in Woodstock will receive informative brochures from CAW officials who will record the number of employees who take The Pledge. The YWCA in St. Thomas and the Rural Women’s Centre in Strathroy are also planning activities.

In schools, students will be contributing to large murals and displays with written commitments to end bullying. Assemblies will feature mayors, choirs, video and slide presentations and hundreds of students, teachers and staff members taking The Pledge together.

See the attached list for details about Thames Valley school activities.

For More Information: Julie Maltby, Public Affairs Officer and Co-Chair of The Pledge Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 21210 Cell: 226-268-6560 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca Mandi Fields, Community Relations Coordinator and Co-Chair of The Pledge CTV Two, 1 Communications road, London N6J 4Z1 519-686-8822 ext. 7243 mandi.fields@bellmedia.ca

Background In May 2010, TVDSB Director of Education Bill Tucker established the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying, bringing together leaders from 29 community organizations to address the complex issue of bullying.

Part of the mission of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying was to increase awareness of bullying prevention. The Pledge is a community-wide initiative that seeks to raise the public’s consciousness about bullying – in schools, at work and at home.

An organizing committee has coordinated an extensive campaign across Thames Valley to reach as many citizens as possible so that they can participate in taking The Pledge to end bullying and register having taken it on the website.

Schools and organizations are invited to create at least one opportunity for their members (including students, employees, customers and volunteers) to come together to take The Pledge.

The media are collaborating to provide unprecedented support of The Pledge. Local television, radio and newspaper outlets will soon be running announcements, interviews and stories about bullying and how everyone can take The Pledge to bring an end to inappropriate behaviour everywhere.

In addition to creating meaningful opportunities for students and staff across Thames Valley to take The Pledge, Safe Schools initiatives will be teaching students that it’s not cool to be a bystander; becoming an “upstander” by helping victims whenever it’s safe to do so and by reporting bullying will help to bring an end to this problem.

Every individual in Thames Valley is encouraged to take The Pledge before or during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, which runs from November 14-18, 2011. The number of people who take The Pledge will be tracked on the website. Check out “The Pledge to end bullying” on facebook and follow The Pledge on Twitter @Take_ThePledge.

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

More than 59,000 take The Pledge against bullying Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 – More than 59,000 residents of Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford counties have rallied in school assemblies, offices, industrial plants, malls and on radio stations across Thames Valley to take The Pledge to end bullying.

Education Director Bill Tucker is thrilled with the community’s response to this initiative.

“Thank you to everyone who has taken The Pledge and helped to raise awareness about this harmful problem in our community.”

Tucker, who initiated the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying more than a year ago, added that efforts to end bullying will continue for as long as necessary.

It’s just day two of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week so people who haven’t heard about or taken The Pledge are encouraged to visit www.tvdsb.ca/EndBullying to learn more and to register their Pledge.

The Pledge is one way that Thames Valley students are taking a stand this week. Students are challenging each other to become an Upstander – not just a bystander – and take action to make a positive difference in the life of another individual or inspire change in the community. Across Thames Valley, students have developed unique activities for their schools that include creative ways to engage students in standing up for what they believe in.

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, two London schools are standing up and singing about acceptance and inclusiveness. Students at Byron Somerset Public School will kick off the Upstander initiative in an assembly at 9:30 a.m. The entire school will participate in a song and dance performance of Nickleback's “When we stand together.” They will then join the community in taking The Pledge to end bullying and discuss its meaning and importance.

Later that morning, Montcalm Secondary School student musicians will have access to an Open Mic from 11:00 - 11:40 a.m. in the foyer. The songs will convey messages about understanding and acceptance.

TVDSB Superintendent Barb Sonier will also step in front of a microphone to raise awareness about bullying this week. See her on Rogers Television’s “Newsmakers” program at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17.

For more information about the Upstander campaign visit www.tvdsb.ca/upstander.

For more information: Toni Wilson, Learning Coordinator - Safe Schools Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20047 toni.wilson@tvdsb.on.ca Susan Dale, Learning Coordinator - Safe Schools Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20048 s.dale@tvdsb.on.ca

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

The Pledge campaign exceeds 60,000 and still going strong Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 – In a remarkable demonstration of the Thames Valley community’s commitment to end bullying, more than 61,000 people have taken The Pledge – and the number climbs each day of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.

Across the district this week, schools and organizations have been holding innovative events to engage members of their communities to become Upstanders who take action to make a positive difference in the life of another individual or inspire change in the community.

On Thursday, Nov. 17, more than 760 students wearing Upstander campaign T-shirts will take The Pledge at a 10:30 a.m. assembly at Jack Chambers Public School in London.

“Many of our students at are leaders who make good choices and we want to celebrate them,” says Vice Principal Janice Davis, adding that The Pledge and Upstander campaigns reinforce positive lessons.

“We know that bullying is universal so we want to encourage our students to be Upstanders and stand up for others and reduce the harmful impact of bullying in our community.”

Also on Thursday, Anne Taylor, co-chair of the Elgin Anti-Bullying Coalition, and Candice Fruin, member of the EABC board and The Pledge organizing committee, will appear on St. Thomas Rogers TV’s “Inside Elgin” at noon.

In Strathroy, the staff at the Women’s Rural Resource Centre have been “taking back the power lost through bullying.” Residential Counsellor Karen Walsh explains that staff members have selected “bully words,” turned them into “power words” and posted new positive meanings on the organization’s Facebook page.

“Throughout the week we have been asking staff to think about a time they have felt bullied in a workplace and write down how bullying made them feel and how it impacted their job performance, family and personal life,” Walsh says. Two staff members will make presentations at a staff meeting on Friday, which will conclude with everyone taking The Pledge.

Since Friday is a PA Day across the school district, Thursday marks the final day of school activities during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. However, students and community members can still take The Pledge at www.tvdsb.ca/EndBullying and schools will continue to promote the Upstander campaign throughout the school year.

For More Information: Janice Davis, Vice Principal Jack Chambers Public 1650 Hastings Drive, London N5X 3E3 519-452-8240 j.davis@tvdsb.on.ca Karen Walsh, Residential Counselor Women’s Rural Resource Centre, 145 Beech Street, Strathroy N7G 1K9 519-246-1526 ext. 230 karenw@wrrcsa.org

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

Boys and Girls Club takes The Pledge to outstanding level Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 – Almost 600 children at the Boys and Girls Club of London pledged to end bullying this week, joining more than 66,000 children and adults who have taken The Pledge across the Thames Valley school district.

Just three months ago, a group of 22 children joined TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker at the Boys and Girls Club to become the very first to recite The Pledge.

“It’s great to see so many people in our community – at schools, factories and offices – get involved and stand up against bullying,” says Tucker.

The Pledge is just one of the recommendations of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying which Tucker initiated more than a year ago to bring together stakeholders throughout the district to tackle the problem of bullying.

The level of knowledge and awareness has increased exponentially over the past several days as schools, businesses, organizations and the media have invited celebrity guests to speak, held inspiring assemblies and meetings, shown compelling videos and shared informative materials throughout Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011).

“The Boys and Girls Club of London is excited to join with other community organizations and have children and youth take The Pledge to end bullying”, says Chris Harvey, the club’s director of operations. “The club is committed to being a safe place to be, where people are respected regardless of their differences.

“All of the children in our social programs have or will sign The Pledge after discussing types of bullying, experiences, understanding bystander behavior and how to be confident and learn methods when faced with bullying behaviour,” Harvey says.

In addition to the discussions and activities, more than 60 signed Pledges and posters made by junior volunteers of the club have been prominently displayed in the Aquaplex for everyone to see as they walk into the club.

For More Information: Chris Harvey, Director of Operations Boys and Girls Club of London, 184 Horton Street, London N6B 1K8 519-434-9114 charvey@bgclondon.ca Julie Maltby, Public Affairs Officer and Co-Chair of The Pledge campaign Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street, London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20210 Cell: 226-268-6560 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca

MEDIA RELEASE www.tvdsb.ca

The Pledge is first Canadian anti-bullying program to win U.S. award Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 – The Pledge to end bullying campaign is the first Canadian initiative of its kind to be recognized with a National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award granted by the U.S.-based School Safety Advocacy Council.

This prestigious award will be presented at the National Conference on Bullying on Feb. 15, 2012 in Orlando, Fla. The Pledge campaign is one of 12 programs from across North America to be recognized with this award. Education Director Bill Tucker says the award is shared with the community.

“The Thames Valley District School Board submitted the award application on behalf of the community that has expressed its commitment to bring an end to bullying by registering more than 70,000 pledges,” says Director Tucker.

In an email notifying TVDSB of the award, SSAC Executive Director Curtis Lavarello wrote that The Pledge campaign was selected from among more than 75 nominations.

"Each of those districts and schools selected demonstrated that they are extremely committed to reducing bullying in an ongoing, comprehensive manner,” states Lavarello, a nationally recognized school safety expert who served on the Columbine Review Commission following the tragedy at the Denver, Colo. school in 1999.

The campaign was widely supported by schools, businesses, news media and community organizations that told stories and planned activities to educate and raise awareness about bullying and bullying prevention. A full list of community partners can be found at www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge.

The School Safety Advocacy Council is made up of leading experts in the field of school and child safety whose nationally certified instructors have trained more than 100,000 police, college and school officials from the United States and abroad. To learn more about the organization, visit www.schoolsafety911.org.

It’s not too late to take The Pledge. Community members are invited to visit the website for bullying prevention resources, announcements and stories by media partners and personal experiences shared by your neighbours.

For More Information: Julie Maltby, TVDSB Public Affairs Officer and Co-Chair of The Pledge Thames Valley District School Board, 1250 Dundas Street E. London N6A 5L1 519-452-2000 ext. 20212 Cell: 226-268-6560 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca

Content for The Pledge website Home Page: To appear with The Pledge logo, Contents that link to the following pages and a graphic, i.e. hand with each finger representing 20 per cent of the goal, thermometer or graph, to show the number of Thames Valley community members who have taken The Pledge.

1. Background 2. Community Partners o Invitation to become a Community Partner o Mechanism for reporting and tracking of the number of individuals or organizations who have taken The Pledge o News and photos from Community Partners that have taken The Pledge 3. Media Partners o Invitation to become a Media Partner o Logos and links to PSAs, ads and stories by participating media outlets 4. Media Stories (i.e. Profiles of bullies, reformed bullies, victims, experts in anti-bullying, etc.)

5. Contacts 6. Anti-Bullying resources 7. Anti-Bullying Social Media (i.e. links to The Pledge facebook page, YouTube videos, etc.)

8. The Pledge Event 9. Thank you to “The Pledge” Sponsors with logos and links to their home pages or a page on their web site devoted to their sponsorship of The Pledge Intro: Bullying is defined as a form of repeated, persistent and aggressive behaviour directed at an individual or individuals that is intended to cause (or should be known to cause) fear and distress and/or harm to another person's body, feelings, self-esteem or reputation. Bullying occurs in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance. (Source: Ministry of Education) Different forms bullying include:    

Physical – hitting, shoving, stealing or damaging property Verbal – name calling, mocking, or making sexist, racist or homophobic comments Social – excluding others from a group or spreading gossip or rumours about them Electronic (commonly known as cyberbullying) – spreading rumours and hurtful comments through the use of cellphones, e-mail, text messaging and social networking sites Join the Thames Valley community in taking The Pledge – and express your commitment to bringing an end to bullying!

Adults and children in Grade 7 and up: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Children up to Grade 7:

1 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website “I believe that everybody has the right to feel safe, included, valued and accepted. I pledge to respect others and to stand up against and report bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

1. Background: The Thames Valley District School Board (the Board) invited suggestions from the community about how children and youth services, community organizations, health professionals, the media, parents, police and justice, schools and students can prevent and respond to bullying. Citizens said that community groups need to work together to address the issue of bullying.

In November 2010, Director of Education Bill Tucker partnered with 15 agencies throughout Thames Valley – including police, Children’s Aid Societies, health professionals and anti-bulling coalitions – to try to find ways to address the bullying issue in our community. He formed the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying and spent one year sharing best practices, learning from each other and planning active responses to the issue of bullying.

The task force’s Report to the Community, released on June 28, 2011, highlights how each organization will address the issue of bullying in the future. A number of groups have taken the opportunity to refine what they are already doing, while others have used the report as a springboard for new initiatives within their organizations and with other community partners.

The Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying has set a new standard for community discussion on this important issue and has been recognized by the Ministry of Education as a unique and creative approach to the school board’s effort to work with the community to eliminate bullying behaviour everywhere.

We need the support of all organizations in Thames Valley to help end bullying in our community!

What’s next?

The Pledge is a community-wide initiative that seeks to raise the public consciousness about bullying – in schools, at work and at home.

With the support of our caring individuals – in schools, businesses, non-profit organizations and the media – we can have an impact. It really doesn’t take much to show kindness. Lend your voice. Take The Pledge and help bring an end to bullying!

Possible image for page: Photo of girl by lockers (used on TVDSB website as image for Anti-Bullying Task Force)

2 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website 2. Community Partners  We are asking all organizations to join us in a new initiative called “The Pledge.”  There are two brief, simple versions of The Pledge – one that applies to younger children and one for teenagers and adults – in schools, workplaces and at home. Bringing members of your organization together to take The Pledge is an expression of their commitment to stop inappropriate behaviour and to stand up for those who are bullied.  Whenever possible, and upon request, a member of The Pledge organizing committee will come to your organization to explain the concept and lead everyone in taking The Pledge.  This website has been designed to provide information about bullying, links to helpful resources, media coverage and a tracking system so that participating organizations can record their progress in taking The Pledge.  The local media will help to raise awareness about The Pledge.

How can your organization help?  Participate by creating at least one opportunity for all members of your community to come together to take The Pledge to end bullying (recognizing that larger organizations may encourage taking The Pledge in smaller groups).  Identify a Pledge Ambassador to manage the following: o Track and report the number of members of your organization who take The Pledge. For example, if your organization holds a Town Hall meeting and asks everyone present to take The Pledge, the Ambassador can report the number of individuals who have taken The Pledge on this website. Be sure to report if this number represents 100 per cent participation at your organization! o Identify members of your staff who could be profiled for media stories, i.e.:  Reformed bullies  Victims  “Upstanders” (who choose to stand up to bullying instead of standing by and watching inappropriate behaviour happen)  People who have worked to end bullying and aggressive behaviour, etc.  Share any creative ways that your organization brings people together to Take the Pledge by posting stories and photos on the website or by providing them to the Committee to share with the media.  Join us at an event to celebrate the success of The Pledge at a community event during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011).

Include a mechanism for reporting and tracking of the number of individuals or organizations who have taken The Pledge that captures the following details: o Name of organization

3 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website o Number of employees/volunteers, etc. who have taken The Pledge o A way to submit photos and some text about the method (i.e. event) used to rally their community.

3. Media Partners

The media hear and tell stories about bullying and many want to be part of the solution. The Pledge organizing committee thanks these media partners for their support: To appear with logos that link to media home pages (or pages created to promote The Pledge) CTV London (formerly /A\ Channel) Astral Radio (CJBK/CKSL/Q97.5/BX 93) Corus Radio (CFPL AM 980/FM 96/The Hawk/Woodstock Radio) Londoner Rogers Television (London, St. Thomas and Woodstock) 106.9 (Fanshawe College) o All media in the Thames Valley area (Middlesex, Oxford and Elgin Counties) are invited to play a significant role in a community-wide campaign called “The Pledge.” Telling stories – through Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and media coverage – will bring a significant community issue to the public and encourage all citizens to stand up against bullying. o There are two brief, simple versions of The Pledge – one that applies to younger children and one for teenagers and adults – in schools, workplaces and at home – so that members of our community can come together to Take the Pledge, expressing our commitment to not engage in bullying behaviour and to stand up for those who are bullied. o One Pledge has been written for younger children and one to apply to teenagers and adults – in schools, workplaces and at home. o A logo has been designed to brand the campaign in print and online media, which may accompany your corporate logo in The Pledge communications. o This website has been created to provide information about bullying, links to helpful resources and participating media and a tracking system so that participating organizations can record their progress in taking The Pledge.

How can your media outlet help? o News stories about bullying during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011).

The TVDSB Public Affairs and Community Relations department and the organizing committee members will identify people to profile for media stories, i.e. bullies, reformed bullies, victims of bullies, “Upstanders” (who choose to stand up against bullying instead of standing by and watching inappropriate behaviour happen), experts in bullying and aggressive behaviour, etc.; o PSAs/advertorials starting in September to raise awareness about The Pledge;

4 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website o Morning crews at local radio stations take The Pledge on air at 7:55 a.m. on Monday, November 14 so that no matter what station community members tune into in their cars and in their workplaces, they’ll hear about The Pledge. We’ll also provide a member of the Committee to come to the studio to talk about the campaign on the air;

o We’ll arrange for Pledge Ambassadors, to be identified in participating organizations, for photos and interviews when they can report 100 per cent participation in The Pledge at their organization; o We plan to celebrate the success of The Pledge at a community event during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. o Any ideas your media outlet can think of to encourage people in the community to take The Pledge!

Include link to Media Stories page.

4. Media Stories – linked from home page and Media Partners page Report from Director's Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying – /A\ News, June 28, 2011; posted on TVDSB facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/TVDSB Get ready to take the anti-bullying pledge – Sentinel Review, June 28, 2011 http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3191908 AM980, CBC Radio, Heart FM and MyFm (St. Thomas) ran reports including interviews with Education Director Bill Tucker on June 29, 2011.

5. Contacts: Mandi Fields /A\ London 519-686-8822 ext 7243 mandi.fields@ctv.ca Julie Maltby Thames Valley District School Board 519-452-2000 ext 20210 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca Kate Young Thames Valley District School Board 519-452-2000 ext 20209 kate.young@tvdsb.on.ca Committee members (being recruited) 5 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website Mandi Fields Co-Chair CTV Julie Maltby Co-Chair Thames Valley District School Board Brian Blatnicki mindyourmind.ca Kate Young Thames Valley District School Board Barb Sonier Thames Valley District School Board John Mombourquette London District Catholic School Board 6. Anti-bullying resources: Big Brothers/Sisters CAMH Centre for Prevention Science Changing Ways Children’s Aid Society Child Abuse Prevention Council of London-Middlesex Crimestoppers (Elgin/London/Middlesex) Crimestoppers (Oxford)

Phone: 800.222.TIPS Phone: 519.421.TIPS

Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children Fanshawe College Fourth R Kids Help Phone London Abused Women’s Centre 6 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website London Anti-Bullying Coalition LUSO Community Services Peer Power Centre Police Services (London, Woodstock, OPP) Public Health Units St. Leonard’s Community Services Sexual Assault Centre Stop A Bully! Canada's Anti-Bullying Reporting Program Thames Valley Children’s Centre TVDSB Safe Schools Thames Valley Parent Involvement Committee University of Western Ontario Women’s Community House Women’s Emergency Centre - Oxford Women’s Shelters in Canada (including Thames Valley)

7.

Anti-bullying social media:

Link to The Pledge facebook page Anti-bullying videos posted on YouTube: Take a stand against bullying. Take the pledge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWJut7KQhI4 Words hurt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j6YA03hm4k&NR=1 Children see. Children do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWUtywfwsMw&feature=fvwrel 7 Appendix E

Content for The Pledge website Fight against cyberbullying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amueaVHIZ6A Cyberbullying – Let’s fight it together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGIwCJK7FM&NR=1 Stand up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbGIwCJK7FM&NR=1 8. The Pledge Events Details to come.

9. Thank you to our sponsors!

List with logos that link to their home pages or to pages on their website created to promote their sponsorship of The Pledge.

8 Appendix E

The Pledge Tactics and Timeline Timeframe May 31, 2011

July 7 July 8 – Aug. 15 July 8 – Aug. 15 July 8 – July 30

Tactic Meeting with Kate Young, TVDSB Manager of Public Affairs and Community Relations, to discuss the concept of The Pledge Online research to find if other school boards in Ontario or Canada have launched a similar campaign Telephone meeting with Kate and Mandi Fields, Community Relations Coordinator at CTV London, to discuss approaching the media about The Pledge Identify local media outlets in Elgin, London-Middlesex and Oxford counties to contact by email with news of The Pledge Send email to local media outlets to make them aware of an upcoming community-wide campaign to raise awareness about bullying Meet with Kate to provide update on planning and discuss next steps Write e-invitation to a meeting of local media Send e-invitation to identified media Meet with Kate to plan information packages for meeting with the media Draft Media Information Sheet to summarize the concept of The Pledge and how the media can assist Distribute media release about the release of the community report on the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying, with a mention of an upcoming community-wide public awareness campaign Prepare media packages with the Media Information Sheet and the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying report to the community Meet with local media at a meeting to solicit their assistance with reaching the community through public service announcements and/or editorial coverage of The Pledge

Identify members of the community to recruit to the Organizing Committee, with the primary function of recruiting community organizations from their networks that commit to coordinating opportunities for their members to take The Pledge Draft Information for Community Partners sheet to share with prospective organizations Recruit identified Organizing Committee members Follow up with prospective Media Partners Write content and source images and links to online resources for The Pledge website

July 15 July 15

Deadline for design of The Pledge logo Deadline for the wording of The Pledge

June 6 June 7 June 8 June 11 June 20 June 24 June 27 June 27 June 28 June 28, 2011

June 29 June 30 July 5 July 6

Appendix F

Person(s) Responsible Kate and Julie

Budget 1 hour

Julie

2 hours

Kate, Julie and Mandi

30 minutes

Julie

2 hours

Kate

15 minutes

Kate and Julie Mandi, Kate and Julie Julie Kate and Julie Julie (Kate and Mandi to edit)

30 minutes 30 minutes 5 minutes 30 minutes 2 hours 15 minutes

Julie

30 minutes

Mandi, Julie and Kate

1.5 hours

Julie (edited by Mandi) Mandi, Kate and Julie

2 hours 1.5 hours

Julie (edited by Kate and Mandi) Mandi, Kate and Julie Mandi, Kate and Julie Julie (edited by Kate and Richard Hoffman, TVDSB Public Affairs Coordinator) CTV London Julie, Kate, Mandi and members of the TVDSB Safe Schools staff

2 hours

20 hours

6 hours 1.5 hours

1

Timeframe July 27 July 29

Tactic Research populations of Thames Valley to set objective for number of Pledges registered on the website Establish campaign goal and objectives

July 30 August

Complete and deliver website content to Tania Develop The Pledge website

August – Nov.

Maintain a current Community Partner spreadsheet with updates from members of the Organizing Committee Maintain a current Media Partner spreadsheet with updates from Mandi and media representatives Meet with representatives of participating media outlets to coordinate key messages in PSAs Recruit on-air celebrities from participating radio and television media outlets for PSAs for The Pledge website Work with CTV Producer Nick Scott to develop two CTV PSAs

August – Nov. Aug. 4 Aug. 15 Aug. 6

Aug. 2 - 11

Coordinate Bill Tucker’s visit to the Boys and Girls Club of London to take The Pledge with a group of children for coverage on BOB FM Prepare the agenda and information packages and host the first meeting of the Organizing Committee Write and distribute the Minutes of the Organizing Committee meeting Prepare the agenda and information packages and host the first meeting of the Organizing Committee Write and distribute the Minutes of the Organizing Committee meeting Write and distribute the media release about the launch of The Pledge website Launch The Pledge website Launch and maintain “The Pledge to end bullying” Facebook page Launch and maintain The Pledge Twitter account

Aug. 16 Aug. 18 Sept. 8 Sept. 12 Sept. 12 Sept. 13 Sept. 13 Sept. 13 Sept. 13

Meet with Barb Sonier to discuss the coordination of the community-based Pledge campaign with the school-based Upstander campaign during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18) Prepare a Power Point presentation and printed materials for members of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying

Sept. 21

Appendix F

Person(s) Responsible Julie

Budget 1 hour

Julie (with input from TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker, Kate, Barb Sonier, Superintendent who oversees Safe Schools, and Mandi) Julie Tania DeJonge, CTV Web Master (with feedback and edits by Julie and Mandi) Julie

2 hours

3 hours

Julie

3 hours

Mandi and Julie Mandi

1.5 hours 2 hours

Mandi

Julie

4 hours; Value of production and air time: $100,000 2 hours

Julie and Mandi

3 hours

Julie Julie and Mandi

1 hour 3 hours

Mandi Julie Tania and Mandi Mandi Brian Blatnicki (Organizing Committee member) Julie

1 hour 1 hour 20 hours 20 hours 2 hours

Julie and Jason Rake, TVDSB Electronic Publishing and Graphics

2 hours

2 hours

1 hour

2

Timeframe Sept. 23

Tactic Present The Pledge PSAs and a campaign summary at a meeting of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying

Person(s) Responsible Bill Tucker, Julie and Mandi

Budget 1 hour

Sept. 26

Write one-page summary of The Pledge plans for Director Tucker to present to the TVDSB Board of Trustees at the meeting of Sept. 27 Draft a message for Barb to send to all Principals about arranging an opportunity for their entire school population to take The Pledge at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 14 Create a Power Point presentation to update the Board of Trustees on The Pledge at the meeting of Oct. 11 Write an article about workplace bullying and The Pledge for the November issue of the CAW Local 88 newsletter for CAMI employees Draft a letter to municipal government leaders across Thames Valley to request that they take The Pledge at a public meeting in November.

Prepare current information for and attend a meeting of the Organizing Committee Edit Q & A from interview with CAW Local 88 Human Rights Committee member Anne MacMeekin for The Pledge website Write and distribute the Minutes of the Organizing Committee meeting Write article for publication in the Canadian Association of School Administrators’ magazine, Leaders & Learners Meet with Jason Rake, TVDSB Electronic Publishing and Graphics, to discuss the creation of The Pledge posters, certificates for elementary schools and bookmarks for high schools Develop posters, certificates and bookmarks; determine the number required of each and oversee the printing and delivery of the materials to the TVDSB mail depot Package the posters, certificates and bookmarks for delivery to 166 secondary and elementary schools across the Thames Valley district

Julie (edited by Kate)

1 hour

Julie and Barb

30 minutes

Created and presented by Julie (edited by Kate) Julie (edited by Kate)

3 hours 5 hours

Julie and Kate

2 hours

Julie and Mandi Julie and Anne

3 hours 1.5 hours

Julie Julie (edited by Kate, Barb and Mandi) Julie

1 hour 6 hours 1 hour

Jason

5 hours + $2,250

Julie, Jason, Shaun Tucker (EPG) and Cathy Hannah (Administrative Assistant ) Julie

5 hours

2 hours

Julie and Mandi

3 hours

Mandi Julie (edited by Richard)

1 hour 2 hours

Julie (edited by Richard)

3 hours

Sept. 26 Oct. 6 Oct. 6-7 Oct. 12 Oct. 12 Oct. 12 Oct. 14 Oct. 17 - 21 Oct. 18 Oct. 19-25 Oct. 28

Nov. 1

Assemble a list of prospective media sources, including Organizing Committee members, student leaders in anti-bullying programming and teachers and staff members who work directly in Safe Schools initiatives Prepare the agenda and information packages and host the fourth meeting of the Organizing Committee Write and distribute the Minutes of the Organizing Committee meeting Distribute media release about The Pledge and Upstander activities at TVDSB schools during Bullying Awareness and Prevention week and follow up by e-mail with key media representatives Distribute daily media releases with the current number of Pledges registered on the website and highlighting Pledge-related activities in schools and community organizations Update the numbers of Pledges registered on the website frequently throughout the week

Nov. 9 Nov. 11 Nov. 13

Nov. 14-17 Nov. 14-17

Appendix F

Tania

3

Timeframe Nov. 14-17

Tactic Update the homepage of the TVDSB website with photos and stories of Pledge and Upstander activities at schools across the district Contributed to a Power Point presentation and prepared a package for Director Tucker’s meeting with the Ministry of Education to discuss the success of The Pledge and Upstander campaigns Plan a wrap party for members of the Organizing Committee and Media Partners Design a certificate to recognize Media Partners Host the wrap-up party, including the preparation of the agenda and lining up CTV London Manager Don Mumford and Bill Tucker to speak, and the presentation of the recognition certificates Send certificates and a personal note to all Media Partners who did not attend the wrap-up party

Nov. 22

Jan. 2012 Jan. 10 Jan. 12

Jan. 14

Appendix F

Person(s) Responsible

Budget

Julie

2 hours

Mandi Jason and Shaun Mandi and Julie

1 hour 2 hours

Julie

1.5 hours

4

Information for Community Partners Just over a year ago, The Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying was formed to try to find ways to address the bullying issue in our community. The Task Force was made up of 15 agencies throughout Thames Valley including the Thames Valley District School Board, police, Children’s Aid Societies, health professionals and anti-bullying coalitions.

In November 2010, the Task Force held an anti-bullying community discussion called “Let’s All End Bullying” to identify key strategies that members of the community believe are effective in preventing and responding to bullying.

Almost 600 members of three communities (London, St. Thomas and Woodstock) gathered and provided more than 2000 suggestions on how children and youth services, community organizations, health professionals, the media, parents, police and justice, schools and students can prevent and respond to bullying.

Community Feedback: Participants suggested that almost all of the community groups who belong to the task force can play a part in preventing and responding to bullying by educating children and youth. Offering programs, services and activities to youth was viewed as very important by the participants. A key message from the report is that community groups need to work together to address the issue of bullying.

The Report to the Community, released on June 28, 2011, highlights how each organization will address the issue of bullying in the future. A number of groups have taken the opportunity to refine what they are already doing, while others have used the report as a springboard for new initiatives within their organizations and with other community partners.

What’s next?  We are asking all organizations in the Thames Valley area (Middlesex, Oxford and Elgin Counties) to join us in a new initiative called “The Pledge;”  There are two versions of The Pledge – one for children and one for teenagers and adults – to be taken orally in schools, workplaces and at home. We hope members of your organization will come together to take The Pledge, expressing their commitment to not engage in bullying behaviour and to stand up for those who are bullied; Teenagers and adults: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

Children up to age 13: “I believe that everybody has the right to feel safe, included, valued and accepted. I pledge to respect others and to stand up against and report bullying whenever and wherever I see it.” …2 Appendix G

Page 2  Whenever possible, and if it would be helpful, we will provide a member of the Organizing Committee to come to your organization to explain the concept and lead everyone in taking The Pledge;  A website has been created to provide information about bullying, links to helpful resources and participating media and a tracking system so that participating organizations can record their progress in taking The Pledge: www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge  The local media is helping to raise awareness about The Pledge.

How can your organization help?  Participate by creating at least one opportunity for all members of your workplace community to come together to take The Pledge to end bullying (recognizing that larger organizations may encourage departments/teams to take The Pledge in groups).  Identify a Pledge Ambassador to take on the following: o Track and report the number of members of your organization who take The Pledge. For example, if your organization holds a Town Hall meeting and asks everyone present to take The Pledge, the Ambassador can go to The Pledge website to report the number. Be sure to report if this number represents 100% participation at your organization! o Identify members of your staff who could be profiled for media stories, i.e.:  Reformed bullies  Victims of bullies (as children or as adults)  “Upstanders” (who choose to stand up against bullying instead of standing by and watching inappropriate behaviour happen)  People who have worked to end bullying and aggressive behaviour, etc.  Share any creative ways that your organization brings people together to take The Pledge by posting stories and photos on the website or by providing them to the Committee to share with the media.  Join us in taking The Pledge at 10 a.m. on Monday, November 14 – the first day of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week (Nov. 14-18, 2011).

The Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying has set a new standard for community discussion on this important issue and has been recognized by the Ministry of Education as a unique and creative approach to the school board’s effort to work with the community to eliminate bullying behaviour everywhere.

We need the support of all organizations in Thames Valley to help end bullying in our community!

Mandi Fields (Co-chair) CTV London 519-686-8822, ext. 7243 mandi.fields@bellmedia.ca

Julie Maltby (Co-chair) Thames Valley District School Board 519-452-2000, ext. 20210 j.maltby@tvdsb.on.ca Appendix G

I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences.

I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.

Appendix H - Bookmark for high school students

I believe that everybody has the right to feel safe, included, valued and accepted.

I pledge to respect others and to stand up against and report bullying whenever and wherever I see it.

This is to certify that

joined students across Thames Valley District School Board in taking The Pledge to end bullying

Student Signature

Authorizing Signature

Appendix H - Certificate for elementary students

Thames Valley District School Board www.tvdsb.ca/EndBullying

Sample of Promotion of The Pledge on Radio Station Websites on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 FM96 – Tucker, Taz and Kelly took The Pledge at 7:55 a.m.

CJBK – Steve Garrison interviewed Bill Tucker at 7:50 a.m. and another interview aired with Corina Morrison at about 10:30 a.m.

Appendix I

1

BOB FM

Easy 101

Appendix I

2

more 103.9 FM

Appendix I

3

AM980

Appendix I

4

Media Coverage September, 2011 – February 2012

Media Coverage

Visit The Pledge Media Gallery at http://www.ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge/media.html for links to radio and television broadcasts and print media articles.

To view the Thames Valley District School Board webpage devoted to The Pledge, go to www.tvdsb.on.ca/EndBullying.

To view the official Facebook page, visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/thepledgetoendbullying or search for “The Pledge to end bullying.”

To see The Pledge tweets, follow @Take_ThePledge on Twitter: http://twitter.com.

The following pages include a sample of media coverage that appeared online and in print.

The Thames Valley District School Board does not subscribe to any media notification services beyond Google Alerts so the media pickup presented in this package is less than the actual.

The following is a summary of some radio and television coverage, many of which are not represented on The Pledge website because electronic files were not provided. 

On Monday, November 14 at 7:55 a.m., radio announcers on BOB FM, Heart FM, 106.9 the X and Corus and Astral radio stations took The Pledge live on the air and The Pledge was mentioned or discussed during interview segments throughout the day. For example, Education Director Bill Tucker and Corina Morrison of the London Anti-Bullying Coalition were both interviewed on CJBK during different segments. All of these stations also produced and ran The Pledge PSAs in November.



CTV London ran two 30-second Public Service Announcements a minimum of three times daily between Sept. 12 and Nov. 18. The PSAs were titled “Bullying begins at home” and “Cyber bullying.” The station also ran news stories during the 6 p.m. broadcast about The Pledge or related activities on Sept. 13, Oct. 13, Nov. 14, Nov. 18 and Jan. 26.



Heart FM in Woodstock ran an anti-bullying series from Nov. 14 – 18, which addressed bullying in schools and in the workplace and each story encouraged listeners to take The Pledge and provided the URL to the website.



FM96 ran a weekend-long contest that motivated listeners to take The Pledge for entry into a draw for concert tickets.



Rogers TV in London devoted an episode of “Amazing Kids” to The Pledge and bullying prevention on Monday, Nov. 14, an episode of “Daytime” on Tuesday, Nov. 15 featuring one member of the Organizing Committee and an episode of “Newsmakers” on Thursday, Nov. 17, featuring four members of The Pledge organizing committee.



Rogers TV in St. Thomas also covered The Pledge with an interview with a member of The Pledge organizing committee on “Inside Elgin” on Thursday, Nov. 17.

Get ready to take the anti-bullying pledge - Woodstock Sentinel Review - Ontario, CA

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Get ready to take the antibullying pledge Newspaper

By HUGO RODRIGUES, Sentinel-Review Archive Information

Posted 7 months ago

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LONDON - The region's public school board is encouraging every member of its community to take the pledge to end bullying.

The challenge came out of a Thames Valley District School Board meeting Tuesday, where director of education Bill Tucker presented the final report of an antibullying task force setup just over a year ago.

"We had come to realization, without shirking our responsibility as a school board, that we need to work with the community if we are ever going to finally resolve the issue of bullying," Tucker said. "Bullying behaviour is a learned behaviour. We have an opportunity to take a lead in dealing with bullying from an education perspective."

The task force brought together 25 organizations from throughout the district to speak to the role each plays in working with children and their families on anti-bullying and violence-prevention initiatives. The impetus for the task force was the suicide deaths of several London-area students where bullying was suspected to be part of the complex reasons behind each tragedy.

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The task force included membership from the Woodstock Police Service, the Children's Aid Society of Oxford, Ingersoll's Fusion Youth and Technology Centre and the Oxford-Elgin Child and Youth Centre.

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The task force allowed the school board to raise awareness among the community members of what the board was already doing in the area of anti-bullying and violence-prevention programs. Tucker said it also educated school-board employees on what the community organizations were doing along the same theme.

Norwich Legion Sunday Brunch February 12

The task force focused on the three elements of a child's life where bullying can be prevented and from where a response can come from— children and youth, parents and families and community and schools. The task force also noted all three groups would have the greatest impact in reducing bullying through education, consistency in enforcing consequences and in working with families.

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It will continue to meet to discuss how new programs and strategies are being implemented across the district, but a high-profile campaign to get as many people to sign an anti-bullying campaign will be a lasting legacy. Tucker also asked for a change in vocabulary to get bystander witnesses to bullying to step up and stop the behaviour as they witness it. He suggested these people be called "upstanders."

All U Can Eat Spaghetti

"Whether you're in a school, a resident of the community, the owner of a store in a mall, or part of a factory, (we want) the community to pledge to end bullying— that we all become upstanders," Tucker said. "The power behind that potential is beyond imagination. Imagine what we could do, supporting the pledge."

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That pledge campaign will launch later this year on the A channel with support from other community organizations and media. hrodrigues@bowesnet.com Advertisement Article ID# 3191908 Tools

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10 Things I Know About You | Letter to the Editor Current Issue: Monday, February 06, 2012

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

> Monday, August 29, 2011 > News > Bringing an end to bullying

Bringing an end to bullying Alison Gaze Interrobang Click here to read more Interrobang articles written by Alison Gaze Published: Monday, August 29, 2011

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Teasing. Picking on. Putting down. There are many different terms to describe bullying, and it seems as though most people have been involved with it at some point during their educational experiences. Sometimes thought to be a problem that only elementary and high schools face, bullying is also a problem throughout colleges and universities, although the face of bullying at this level can look vastly different.

For college students, bullying doesn't generally involve namecalling, stealing lunch money or pushing someone down in the schoolyard; instead it often involves roommate disputes. Many people who have lived with someone other than a family member have at least one or two "horrible roommate" stories, and while sometimes it can seem funny after the fact that your roommate was messy or loud, some unlucky students deal with roommates who make their living space a nightmare.

There are many resources available on campus for those who are dealing with roommate disputes. The Counselling and Accessibility office, located in F2010, offers roommate mediation among its housing focused services. Counselling and Accessibility Services was unavailable for comment.

If you're looking for a different kind of help, maybe someone just to hear you out and listen to your troubles, the Fanshawe Student Union has its doors open. "What the Student Union does is provide outreach for students," said FSU President Veronica Barahona. "We can tell students where they need to go on campus to get help." Barahona stressed that collegelevel bullying is very different than it is within the elementary and secondary school systems, which is why many students who are faced with bullying in college do not know where to get help.

"Any bullying within Fanshawe is unacceptable; we have a zero tolerance policy," she explained, adding that along with housing mediators, the Student Union offers "a VP of Academic Affairs, who can help with appeals. We also give help in dealing with the student code of conduct." Above all, Barahona said that students should "come to the Student Union – just come right into the office and talk to someone. We are all students here, too, so we understand what it's like."

While the FSU works to stop college-level bullying, the Thames Valley District School Board is instituting a new program called The Pledge to help end bullying within its schools. According to TVDSB Public Affairs Officer Julie Maltby, "The Pledge is really the crux of bringing an end to bullying across Thames Valley."

The Pledge came about after the Director's Community Task Force was formed in 2010 in an attempt to find ways to end bullying in the public school system. What the task forces found was that more attention needed to be given to the task to bullying awareness, and so The Pledge was created.

The Pledge campaign is exactly what it sounds like: a pledge taken by students that states, "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it." The website for this initiative, ctvlondon.ca/thepledge, will go live on September 12.

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2/7/2012

Londoner

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Take the Pledge Putting a stop to bullying Posted 4 months ago

Londoners are pledging to fight bullying.

In 2010, the Thames Valley District School Board's director of education called for agencies in the area to come together to combat bullying. A community task force was formed that presented its findings in a report in June 2011.

One of the recommendations from the report was to mobilize the community by taking a pledge against bullying, put forth by CTV London.

An initiative called The Pledge was chosen as the course of action to bring an end to bullying in the area.

"We are hopeful that we can be a more inclusive community," said Mandi Fields, community relations coordinator at CTV London and co-chair of The Pledge.

Thames Valley District School Board and CTV London are encouraging residents in Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford Counties to take The Pledge by visiting http://ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge/.

"It's a collaboration to bring an end to bullying in the Thames Valley," said Julie Maltby of the Thames Valley District School Board, who is co-chairing the initiative with Fields. "We recognize (bullying) is a community problem and we need to deal with it as a community," Maltby said.

The campaign website went live last week and has been attracting a lot of web traffic.

"People are sending in comments and people are telling us their stories," said Fields. "Just knowing that we've hit a nerve (with the community) is positive."

Maltby said the pledge is simple by design and "anyone can go on the website and sign up."

Fields said that people can take the pledge in five different languages.

"It's a model to show what inclusively can look like," she said.

The group wanted to start the campaign early in the school year and have it climax during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week November 14 to 18, Fields said. She also encouraged businesses and other organizations to take the pledge.

The campaign has already received tremendous support from local media and on November 14, morning show hosts around London will also join the movement by taking the anti bullying pledge on-air at 7:55 a.m. Also taking the pledge that day will be organizations and schools that have registered on the website.

"We're really pleased with the unprecedented support that the pledge is receiving from the media," said Maltby.

Fields said the group is looking forward to hearing from the community. She said Londoners are encouraged to send in personal stories about instances where they or someone they know stood up against bullying.

"We're asking bystanders to become upstanders," Fields said. "There is power here —it's not just negative, it' also positive," For more information about the initiative and to take the pledge, visit http://ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge/ Shobhita.sharma@sunmedia.ca Copyright Š 2012 Londoner

http://www.thelondoner.ca/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3306842

2/7/2012

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Are you ready to take The Pledge against bullying?

Mike Arsenault 14 September 2011 02:24 A new program initiated by the Thames Valley District School Board and CTV News London is hoping to rid the Forest City community of bullies and bullying behaviour.

It’s called The Pledge.

“It’s a commitment that people will make to not bully and to stop bullying when they see it,” said Julie Maltby, a public affairs officer with Thames Valley District School Board.

The phrase to be included in the pledge is as follows: “I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences.”

“We want people to become up-standers (not bystanders). It’s a word that’s been coined to indicate those people who will stand up against bullying,” Maltby added.

Both students and members of the community can visit the website and click to take The Pledge, and also to learn more about how to stop bullying, share their stories, and to seek help for victims of bullying.

According to Maltby, cyberbullying is one aspect of bullying that – while recognized by school boards – is a challenge to monitor and is still a fairly new issue. Kids can send hurtful text messages to another student in class without the teacher knowing and immediately that child is centred out.

“There are a lot of people who might not recognize bullying behaviour when they see it,” Maltby said. “The (program) is going to provide an education piece; it’s going to provide resources for people who think they are being bullied and don’t know what to do about it.”

The program website launched Monday and can be found at ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge.

Metro London

http://www.metronews.ca/ArticlePrint/969125?language=en

2/7/2012

Take the The Pledge to end bullying http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2011/09/take-the-the-pledge-to-end-bullying/ Februray 7, 2012 All residents in Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties are being encouraged to take The Pledge to end bullying in schools, at work and at home and to register their pledge on a special website just launched.

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and CTV London (formerly /A\ Channel) are working with local partners, including the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) and London and St. Thomas anti-bullying coalitions, to lead this awareness raising campaign to help stop bullying in our community.

Mandi Fields, community relations co-ordinator at CTV London, is co-chairing the initiative with Julie Maltby, TVDSB public affairs officer. CTV London, as a member organization of the Director’s Community Task Force on Anti-Bullying, pitched the idea of The Pledge. “We proposed the idea of The Pledge as an effort to empower the community to do something about the problem of bullying.

“Never before has there been an initiative like this in London and surrounding communities involving all media organizations to directly address the devastating effects bullying has on our community.

We’re thrilled that each organization involved has taken The Pledge to work together on such an important initiative,” Fields says.

The TVDSB is also enthusiastic about taking a lead role in The Pledge. Superintendent Barb Sonier, who oversees Safe Schools across the district, says that a key message in the Task Force’s Report to the Community, released in June, is that community groups need to work together to address the issue of bullying.

“Our Director’s vision was for the mobilization of the entire community to wrap itself around the problem of bullying. Our challenge is for everyone who has been a bystander to become an ‘upstander,’ to stand up to inappropriate behaviours that occur in our schools and in our communities and to deal with these issues in a meaningful way.

“Our job will never be done until respect, empathy, acceptance and caring become a part of everything we do,” says Sonier.

John Mombourquette, LDCSB Superintendent for Safe Schools, echoed Sonier’s comments.

“From the Catholic system’s perspective, we welcome The Pledge as an opportunity to engage the broader community in a vibrant discussion on identifying concrete ways to ensure safe and inclusive schools.”

Prior to this community campaign, students and staff at Mountsfield Public School took a similar pledge in February 2010. Principal Patti Baker says she has since a positive change in attitudes at the school ever since. “I think the kids are definitely more reflective and considerate. They stop and look at how they can make a difference. The pledge gives the kids the ownership. If you speak it, you own it. I think it’s an ongoing process, but the pledge will help open up the communication.”

Every individual in Thames Valley is encouraged to take The Pledge before or during Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, which runs from Nov. 14-18, 2011. CTV London is hosting The Pledge website at http://ctvlondon.ca. Please visit the site to learn more about how you or your business or organization can participate in this community-wide effort to help end bullying.

Clara Brenton PS hosts musical antibullying duo http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2011/10/clara-brenton-ps-hosts-musical-anti-bullying-duo/ Februray 7, 2012

By Mallory Clarkson/London Community News “That makes me awesome!” shouted more than 100 Grades 4-6 students from Clara Brenton Public School when told they were weird. Normally this kind of name-calling would have landed Blake Fleischacker and Dave Anderson in principal’s office, but the tuxedo-clad musicians who were performing at the school Wednesday (Oct. 12) were making a point.

“We built The Acoustic Opera around the belief that we’re all a little bit weird sometimes,” said Dave Anderson, one of the two musicians in the group. “Everyone is unique and we believe that the little things that make us different than anyone else are the same things that make each one of us awesome.”

Anderson added music is a big part of the duo’s lives and they want to share that and the message of getting along with children.

“I believe music has the ability to make students remember a message more,” Anderson said. “It has a very visceral experience where they’re feeling it, they’re remembering the melodies and the rhythms and if you tie and anchor messages to the music — it’s powerful.”

Anderson, along with Blake Fleischacker, created The Acoustic Opera in March of this year. Since then the two University of Western graduates have performed their anti-bullying tunes and inclusive monologues to more than 3,000 students at 15 elementary schools across the province.

They are planning a high school debut in 2012 with a focus on social media and cyber-bullying.

Fleischacker said the idea came the duo combining their musical capabilities and a love of working with students.

“We just wanted to present it in a way that we knew we could,” Fleischacker said. “We new we had the musical background, we’re okay with dressing in tuxedos and acting goofy, we know that engaging kinds in this way and poking a bit of fun at ourselves, gets them to drop their guard a little bit, be more honest with us and remember it better.”

Anderson added the goal is to have the students singing the anti-bullying tunes as they walk out of the gymnasium doors.

While being two separate programs, a public affairs officer with the Thames Valley District School Board said it was a happy coincidence this event was going on at the same time as The Pledge — an initiative from the board to raise awareness about bullying.

“This just happens to be serendipity because Clara Brenton’s music teacher, Fran Gorbasew, she actually brought in The Acoustic Opera as a way to convey the anti-bullying message to the students here with a soundtrack,” said Julie Maltby, who is also The Pledge’s co-creator. “We encourage our schools to do creative and unique initiatives of their own with the idea that The Pledge is one other way that brings the schools together.”

Although they’re two separate initiatives, Maltby said they tie into each other. She added children and adults, alike, who sign The Pledge vow to not participate or turn a blind eye to the issue.

For more information on The Acoustic Opera, visit www.acousticopera.com. To learn more about The Pledge, check out their Facebook page called The Pledge to End Bullying.

Human Rights/ Placement

with our kids, since they will also be having events at their schools. Please read the companion article submitted by Julie Maltby on page 30 of the newsletter.

By: Anne MacMeekin Over the past few months I have been confronted with a number of incidents in which graffiti has been used to harass or bully our own members. Graffiti is like sarcasm, regardless of whether it is meant as a silly joke or to be mean, onlookers often cannot tell the difference.

Writing demeaning or cruel commentary about someone on walls, posters, or washroom stalls is – I can’t be diplomatic – it’s stupid. I cannot imagine why anyone would risk getting caught writing or drawing degrading messages about a co-worker. There are only a few people who are doing it. For all of the rest of you who have been subjected to the graffiti, I apologize. Please report it as soon as you see it.

It sounds as if we are going to be welcoming some new members into our workplace shortly due to an increase in production.

Our members are awesome at helping new people feel welcome here. I am sure that this time will be no exception.

The past month has just been heart-wrenching as we said goodbye to four of our members in just two weeks.

So many sad events in close proximity can cause us to question our own mortality. There is support available right here through our union. Jeff Ramackers can provide you with the resources you need for dealing with the grief we experience when a co-worker and friend is suddenly gone. Our membership’s generosity and humanity toward the families of our co-workers has been incredible, as always.

In solidarity,

Easy

And speaking of bullying, there is an exciting campaign going on in our region called THE PLEDGE TO END BULLYING. CAW Local 88 has gotten involved as the campaign extends beyond the schools and into workplaces. The campaign involves actually signing a pledge that you/we will not tolerate bullying, which is better known as psychological harassment in workplaces. The Thames Valley District School Board and CTV have teamed up to bring more exposure to bullying and harassment that has resulted in tragic consequences for far too long.

2 5 3 8 1 6 4 9 7 7 8 6 9 3 4 5 1 2 4 1 9 7 2 5 3 8 6 3 2 1 4 5 9 6 7 8 6 9 5 3 8 7 1 2 4 8 4 7 1 6 2 9 3 5 1 3 2 5 4 8 7 6 9 5 7 8 6 9 3 2 4 1 9 6 4 2 7 1 8 5 3

Tolerance for bullying is diminishing in the modern workplace and schools. We are pleased to be part of The Pledge initiative. At our October General Membership meeting and during the week of November 14 to 18, we will be engaging our members to consider making The Pledge. This will be a great chance to discuss bullying

www.local88.ca

17

Take The Pledge to stand up to workplace bullying

By Julie Maltby, Co-chair of The Pledge to end bullying campaign

dures in place for addressing workplace bullying is a great first step. However, knowing how to react to bullying is limited if there is no coordinated attempt to reduce and prevent workplace bullying. Initiatives like The Pledge actually help stimulate those difficult discussions.”

Have you been denied the opportunity to take on a project, or missed work because you can’t bear to face a colleague, or felt threatened? If so, you may have been a target of bullying – and you’re not alone.

The Pledge is a communitywide awareness raising campaign designed to help bring an end to bullying in Thames Valley (Oxford, London-Middlesex and Elgin Counties).

The Thames Valley District School Board and CTV London are partnering with schools, businesses, organizations and local media to encourage everyone to take The Pledge:

Workplace bullying is a prevalent problem that is clearly hurtful for the target, but aggressive behaviour doesn’t affect just the bully and the victim. Bullying and harassment poison the workplace, which results in reduced morale and increased absenteeism, among other negative impacts. In other words, workplace bullying is not just unhealthy for workers; it’s bad for business. And, it’s illegal.

"I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

There are two types of bullying: Physical violence, which is covered under the criminal code and the Ministry of Labour; and psychological harassment, which is now covered under the Ministry of Labour through the enactment of Bill 168 in Ontario in 2010.

Dr. Ann Frost, associate professor of organizational behaviour at the Richard Ivey School of Business, teaches human resources and management of people in organizations. Her classes include discussions about harassment and bullying in the workplace.

The Ministry responded to 1,065 complaints of harassment, including bullying, in the workplace last year.

Their investigations led to 3,129 orders, based on the legislation in place to protect individuals from harassment in the workplace. Employers are expected to have policies on both violence and harassment and to enforce them, but this legislation won’t bring an end to bullying.

Anne MacMeekin, the Human Rights Rep. for CAW Local 88, says it’s not enough for employers to develop a zero-tolerance policy. “Having solid policies and proce-

“When I talk to my students about bullying, I define it as any kind of overt or even subtle behaviour that sets out to devalue or demean an employee. Bullying can be verbal abuse, denying employees projects to work on or taking credit for work they’ve done, or it can be done by undermining others by spreading vicious rumours,” Frost says.

30

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COMMUNITY EVENTS The Pledge To End Bullying WHERE: see website WHEN: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 to Friday, November 18, 2011 TIME: see website

It prowls in the shadows.

It has many faces.

It's sound - is silence.

Its victim is every single one of us.

Bullying...now, it has an enemy.

Friendship, love, understanding and a promise to stand up and respect.

Help the Thames Valley District School Board spread the word during Bullying Awareness week November 13th-19th.

Listen to London In the Morning with Steve Garrison at 7:55am on November 14th as he will take the pledge: “I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.�

Be the change, Take the Pledge to end bullying now.

http://www.cjbk.com/event/Details.aspx?ID=255794

2/7/2012

Ingersoll Times

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Taking the pledge at Royal Roads Posted 3 months ago

Parents are invited to join students and staff at Royal Roads Public School, Mayor Ted Comiskey and members of council on Nov. 14 in pledging to stand up against bullying.

"We encourage as many parents as possible to come," said Francine Overeem, a teacher at Royal Roads.

During an assembly that starts at 9:30 a.m., Comiskey and members of council will talk to the students about what it means to take a pledge before the group recites the following: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I find it."

The initiative is part of the school's Character Education Program created by its safe schools committee. The program falls under the Upstander concept promoted by the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB).

"An Upstander is an individual who acts to make a positive difference in the life of an individual or inspires change in the community," Overeem said. "We really want to focus on being an Upstander school this year."

With that in mind, Royal Roads has implemented a Four Cornerstones of Caring Program, which highlights the importance of respect, empathy, nurturing and trust.

The program grew out of a character education initiative that ran at Victory Memorial Public School and Princess Anne Public School last year.

"We revamped it a little bit this year," Overeem said. "Instead of doing a character education program each month, we decided to focus on four cornerstones (throughout the school year). We're trying to make it fun, too."

Through the program, students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 are assigned to one of four groups, including the Respect Raptors, Empathy Eagles, Nurturing Nighthawks and the Trust Thunderbirds. During monthly assemblies, the students sit with their group, instead of their class.

Grade 8 students in each group have created a cheer and a banner for their group.

Every group has a glass vase in the office where they can put coloured stones earned for practicing the four cornerstones of caring.

"Each teacher has a bucket of stones and if the kids are caught being respectful (of the four cornerstones of caring) they get a stone to put in the vase for their group," Overeem said.

At the end of each quarter, the group that collects the most stones gets to hang its banner in the hallway at the school for the month and choose four staff members to compete in Minute To Win It challenges.

While November's assembly recognizes Bullying Prevention Week, December will be about empathy when the school will support a Christmas care drive. A Character Counts Day will be held in January and the focus will be on nurturance in February. There will be a Wellness Day in March and April will be about trust.

Participants in the Nov. 14 assembly are asked to wear pink or an Upstander t-shirt to show support for the antibullying message.

Copyright Š 2012 Ingersoll Times

http://www.ingersolltimes.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3354690

2/7/2012

Western News at The University of Western Ontario

Western policies echo community anti-bullying pledge Anthea Rowe November 10, 2011 How will you help end workplace bullying? That’s the question being posed this week by London-area educators, officials, civic leaders and media representatives.

Monday, Nov. 14, marks the beginning of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week – a community initiative aimed at eradicating abusive behaviour from the schoolyard to the workplace. At 10 a.m. Monday, children, teachers and staff at schools throughout the London region will take a pledge to end bullying.

That Pledge reflects values Western has actively fostered since 2008, when the university created its Safe Campus Community initiative. Involving such departments as Equity and Human Rights Services (EHRS), the initiative educates and supports all staff, faculty and students on their rights, roles and responsibilities with respect to physical, environmental, emotional and cyber safety.

Since 2006, EHRS has consulted with almost 1,300 members of the university community to address issues such as harassment, discrimination and employment equity. In addition to addressing individual issues, they conduct customized workshops at the request of faculty members, teaching assistants and staff leaders.

And since amendments in June 2010 to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, the EHRS team has educated more than 2,700 faculty and staff on the prevention of workplace harassment. Although not formally mentioned in the act, bullying awareness and prevention is a key element of the training.

“Harassment and bullying have subtle but distinct differences,” says Larissa Bartlett, director of equity and human rights services. “A single incident can constitute harassment, even if the person doesn’t intend to offend. Bullying, however, involves repeated incidents over a period of time that are intended to intimidate, offend or humiliate a particular person or group of people.”

The term ‘bullying’ may conjure images of stolen lunch money and playground fistfights, but it is not the sole domain of children. According to the Canada Safety Council, one in six employees in Canada has been bullied, and one in five employees has seen a co-worker bullied.

“While child bullies use fists, adult bullies use words,” Bartlett says. “And we all know psychological and emotional abuse can be even more damaging than physical over the long term.”

In the workplace, bullying can take many forms including: spreading rumours about a person; excluding them from social situations; interfering with their work; belittling their intelligence; blocking their attempts at promotion or training. The list goes on.

And workplace bullying takes its toll in every part of the targets’ lives. They can’t eat or sleep; they lose interest in their work; they experience relationship problems at home; and, generally, they lose their love of life.

Many decide that the only way to escape the bullying is to quit their job. This move has significant financial implications for both the individual and their organization. A -1-

2001 International Labor Organization report estimates that workplace bullying and harassment cost society between 1-3.5 per cent of GDP. Since a bully’s goal is to make their target feel isolated and helpless, Bartlett implores witnesses of workplace bullying to take action.

“If you observe bullying behaviour, reach out to the target. Say, ‘I see what’s going on: I want to help you.’ Also, please contact us at Equity and Human Rights Services for support.”

Bartlett’s favourite saying is: “What we permit we promote.”

She points out that if we as a community allow hurtful, disrespectful actions to go unchecked, we send the message that they are acceptable. “Our goal at Western is to create a culture of respect,” Bartlett says, “where harassment and bullying are completely unacceptable and therefore nonexistent.

“Although,” she laughs, “that ideal also means working myself out of a job.”

Bull’s-eye on bullying One of your colleagues may be a target of bullying if he/she: � � � � � �

Complains someone is consistently sabotaging their work/studies; Acts paranoid or anxious about someone’s influence on their work; Is afraid for their job security or even their personal safety; Appears unhappy and expresses feelings of isolation; Starts avoiding work or school despite a history of regular attendance; Demonstrates a significant drop in performance.

What You Can Do � Reach out to the person you believe is the target of bullying and offer your support; � Contact Equity and Human Rights Services (EHRS) to coordinate training/information workshops www.uwo.ca/equity; � Contact EHRS to report harassment that you are experiencing; � Take The Pledge to End Bullying http://ctvnewslondon.ca/thepledge/.

The Department of Communications and Public Affairs

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WHAT IS THE PLEDGE? The Pledge is a community-wide initiative that seeks to raise the public consciousness about bullying – in schools, at work and at home. This initiative is supported by the Thames Valley District School Board, London District Catholic School Board, caring individuals – in schools, businesses, non-profit organizations and the media.

Together we can have an impact.

It really doesn’t take much to show kindness. Lend your voice and Take The Pledge.

Register at www.thelondoner.ca This message is proudly sponsored by:

1147 Gainsborough Road, London 519-673-5005 www.thelondoner.ca

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Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week in London Begins AM980 News

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Thousands of people across the region will pledge this week to end bullying. As of four o'clo today, 45,254 people have signed a pledge to end bullying. That's a jump of 11, 800 pledge early this morning.

Monday morning students at schools across the Thames Valley District School Board took Pledge" to help kick off Bullying Awareness and Prevention week.

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Those who took the pledge recited the following words: 'I believe that everybody has the rig live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differ pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I se

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In schools, students contributed to large murals and displays with written commitments to e bullying. Assemblies featured mayors, choirs, video and slide presentations and hundreds o students, teachers and staff members taking The Pledge together.

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Local businesses and community groups took part while students at Fanshawe College sig large banner to mark their participation. As well, workers at Cami in Ingersoll received inform brochures from CAW officials who recorded the number of employees who took the pledge

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"Thirty years ago, people were drinking and driving without giving it a second thought," says TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker. "With the help of public campaigns like Mothers Aga Drunk Drivers, people no longer see it as socially acceptable.

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"We believe The Pledge can have the same kind of impact on people's attitudes about bully Students have already given positive feedback since taking the pledge this morning.

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"I think it is a good idea. I think people really need to really notice what they're doing, becau don't think people do notice that they're bullying. Everyone knows that they're wrong" says from Catholic Central Secondary School. "We can try to limit how many people are the bulli

S

The effects of bullying have been linked to several deaths in recent years.

Last year, an anti-bullying task force was created following the death of 13-year-old Bryten a Grade 8 Student at Locke's Public School in St. Thomas. He was frequently targeted by b and took his own life.

Brown's story was the latest in a long line of troubling tales because of bullying. In 1998, 10 old Myles Neuts from Chatham was found hanging from a coat hook in a school washroom father, Mike, is now an anti-bullying advocate who believes his son was the victim of a bully In 2004, Strathroy native Joshua Melo committed suicide after his friends and family said he the victim of bullying online and in school.

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Local News Anti Bullying Week

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Ed Wilmott 11/14/2011 This week is Anti Bullying Week and thousands of Londoners will be taking the pledge to end bullying.

This is an initative by a coalition of local groups, including the Thames Valley School Board, and the goal is to raise community awareness about bullying, at school, at work and at home.

It's a personal commitment to stand up to bullying wherever its seen.

Students at all schools, Fanshawe College and workers at CAMI will take the pledge at 10am this morning.

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Bullying opponents make it personal | London | News | London Free Press

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Bullying opponents make it personal ACTIVISM: Students asked to take the pledge

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, THE LONDON FREE PRESS Last Updated: November 14, 2011 7:49am

Thousands of students will pledge this week to end bullying in the London area, a region where the practice has taken a sometimes deadly toll.

A personal pledge is the foundation of this year’s anti-bullying awareness and prevention week that will be marked by schools, businesses and community groups.

“This is a step in the right direction. We think that with awareness, education and enforcement, we will be able to eliminate bullying,” said Corina Morrison, co-founder of the London Anti-Bullying Coalition.

In extreme cases, bullying has been linked to the deaths of several children in Southwestern Ontario.

Among the deaths were 10-year-old Myles Neuts in Chatham in 1998 and Joshua Melo, 15, of Strathroy in 2004.

About 29,000 people already have taken the pledge online and that number should explode beginning Monday as schools across the region hold assemblies and events focusing on the pledge.

At some schools, student will write their commitment on large murals. Assemblies will feature speakers, choirs, video and slide presentations and hundreds of students, teachers and staff members taking the pledge together.

The campaign is spreading to the community with students and staff at Fanshawe College and workers at Cami Automotive taking the pledge.

The pledge is a personal commitment that helps unify the community around the issue, Morrison said.

She points out bullying isn’t going away, with four suicides linked to bullying in Ontario since September.

The problem also has spread online, Morrison said.

“Now we have cyberbullying. It’s huge and it’s hard to manage.”

But Morrison said there has been great progress in awareness and education about bullying.

Bill Tucker, education director of the Thames Valley District school board, said persistent public campaigns have changed attitudes about drunk driving.

“We believe the pledge can have the same kind of impact on people’s attitudes about bullying.”

Tucker established a task force in May 2010 to combat bullying in the wake of the deaths of two students that drew focus to how schools deal with bullies.

The two students were a 13-year-old St. Thomas boy whose family directed memorial donations to an anti-bullying group and a Saunders student who took his own life.

The task force that included representatives from nearly 30 community organizations, including police, determined more needed to be done to prevent bullying from happening.

Campaign highlights Clarke Road secondary school: Students will wear pink Tuesday to stand up against bullying. Monday assembly features speaker Leroy Hibbert, a multicultural outreach coordinator at LUSO Saunders: London Mayor Joe Fontana kicks off the school’s anti-bullying campaign as students take The Pledge. Former Toronto Argonaut Chuck Winters will speak at the pledge assembly.

Arthur Voaden secondary school, St. Thomas: Giant sheets of paper will be posted so students can write what they stand for. Black and white cookies will be distributed to match the black and white “Upstander” T-shirts students will wear.

Northridge public school: At the pledge assembly, students will sing Be an Upstander, an original song, with lyrics and music written by music teacher Jane Burkman. Students will wear pink.

--- --- --Bullying’s consequences February 1998: Myles Neuts, a 10-year-old pupil in Chatham, dies after he was found hanging from a coathook in a school washroom. Mike Neuts, who believes his son was the victim of a bully, embarks on a campaign against bullying.

November 2004: Joshua Melo, 15, of Strathroy commits suicide. His friends and family said he was the victim of frequent online and in-school bullying October 2008: An 11-year-old boy needs surgery and three metal plates inserted into his head after another boy punches him outside St. Theresa elementary school in London.

Parents of both boys accuse the others’ boy of being the bully beforehand.

May 2010: Facebook postings indicate Bryten Brown, a 13-year-old pupil in St. Thomas, was the victim of bullying before he died. His obituary requested memorial donations be made to the London Anti-Bullying Coalition.

E-mail hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca, or follow HankatLFPress on Twitter.

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Thames Valley starts dedicated effort to end bullying Angela Mullins 14 November 2011 03:50 Ted Smith has no visions of grandeur.

He knows you can’t crack the nut of bullying through a one-week campaign.

That’s why the hallways of Westminster Central Public School, where Smith serves as principal, are covered with posters as constant reminders about the importance of being polite, appreciative and willing to speak up when someone is being picked on.

The school’s 87 students added a few more reminders to the repertoire Monday as they and others in the Thames Valley school district marked the start of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week.

“A lot of kids will see bullying and not do anything about it,” said Aaron Legault, 12, a Grade 7 student who led his classmates in the district’s official pledge to end bullying. “(It’s important) to tell (students) you shouldn’t bully and you should stand up against it.”

Schools across the area took a variety of approaches to kicking off the special week. Some sang anti-bullying songs, some received conflict-resolution training and some listened to anti -bullying speeches, including one from former Toronto Argonaut Chuck Winters.

At Westminster, students traced handprints on a bulletin board and labeled them with their names. The display — which includes the anti-bullying pledge — will stay in place for the rest of the year, giving the school “an anchor” for its message.

“We’re basically saying ‘I promise; this is my commitment, this is my word,’” Smith said. “If we had a situation where someone said something cruel (or) hurt someone’s feelings … we can have them go look at the (bulletin board) … and come back and tell us what it means.”

Angela Mullins/Metro Students at Westminster Central Public School take the pledge to end bullying during an assembly Monday morning. Thousands of people across the Thames Valley school district took the pledge during the official kickoff of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. Angela Mullins/Metro

To learn more about the district’s anti-bullying efforts or to take the pledge yourself, visit tvdsb.ca/EndBullying.

Metro London

http://www.metronews.ca/ArticlePrint/1024181?language=en

2/7/2012

Woodstock Sentinel Review

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Taking a stand against bullying Updated 2 months ago

WOODSTOCK – It can't just be about words.

While Winchester Public School students took "The Pledge" against bullying as part of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week Monday morning, they were urged to take a consistent stand.

"I can't stress enough … it's the actions you take, not just this week, it's every week," principal Susan Davis said.

Despite the awareness week, Davis told her students bullying needs to be addressed all year round.

"It's something everyone needs to work on everyday of their lives," she said. "It should be a character skill you work on for the rest of your life."

Davis said bullying usually has three characteristics. She described bullying as a repeated action that has a power gap – three people against one, for example, or an older person bullying a younger person.

Bullying, she said, is also "intentional."

"The bully has planned it," she said.

Students at the school were invited to initial a copy of "The Pledge" as part of their commitment to end bullying.

Davis said the school has developed a system where students can make anonymous tips about students being bullied so they don't have to worry about being "the one responsible for telling."

Police Chief Rod Freeman and Const. Steve McEwen joined the students in taking "The Pledge."

Freeman told the students it was "OK to be different or have disagreements."

"It's how we deal with them that's important," he said. "We need to strive to treat each other with courtesy and respect."

He encouraged the students to "step up" if they encounter a bullying situation.

"There is a lot of research that bystanders can have a big impact on bullying situation," he said. "We all play a role in establishing a safe environment for all of us."

Schools across the county are taking "The Pledge" as part of Bully Awareness and Prevention Week.

The Pledge: "I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and standup against bullying whenever and wherever I see it." hrivers@bowesnet.com Copyright © 2012 Woodstock Sentinel Review

http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3368734

2/7/2012

St. Thomas Times-Journal

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Elgin Court takes The Pledge Updated 2 months ago

Elgin Court Public School community spent part of Monday morning taking its school back from bullies.

Students, staff, parents and guests took part in The Pledge to end bullying, the area-wide initiative to eradicate the world-wide problem.

The students stood and read in unison The Pledge. It highlights the right to live in a safe, inclusive community.

The pledger also promises to stand up against bullying whenever they see it.

The school's intermediate choir sang a few songs highlighting self-importance and there was a dance performance by a small group of pink-clad girls. The students were also shown a video documenting the campaign of a Pakistani boy who spent much of his life fighting child labour in his home country before he was assassinated.

Students and staff alike joined the dancers in donning bright pink apparel, a tradition borrowed from a Nova Scotia incident and subsequent tradition in which many students wore pink shirts in solidarity after a boy was bullied on the first day of school for wearing the stereotypically female colour.

Tory MPP Jeff Yurek -- sporting his own pink polo shirt -- was on hand to also take the pledge and say a few words to the crowd.

After the assembly he spoke with the Times-Journal about the importance of the initiative.

"I think it's important to get the message out that bullying is wrong and it's time to be yourself and accept people for who they are and get along," he said.

"And it's good to start at the schools. It's great to see the parents here because it's very important that this has to be driven at home too."

Yurek himself was bullied during his youth and reflected on how he sought help a the time.

"Sometime, throughout your life, you've been bullied and I certainly have had my turn at being bullied," he said.

"And, I mean, it's a tough thing to go through and to deal with but having family support and friend support is really key in getting through it and I think teaching the kids this pledge is going to help develop that support network so that we can put an end to it."

Elgin Court principal Jim Bowden said after the assembly he was impressed with Grade 8 students' leadership, especially the two Grade 8s who emceed the event. He also emphasized the importance of bringing bullying to the forefront of his students' minds.

"I think it's about awareness. I've often said to the students when we're out on the school yard, there's generally three adults watching. That's three sets off eyes but if we have everybody watching that's 400 sets of eyes and that makes a huge difference ... because the more we know, the better that we can do to make sure our school's safe."

School support councillor Lorie Shook echoed the importance of social support in a separate Times-Journal interview and says she's seen the effects first-hand.

"When it (a case of bullying) comes to my desk, I deal with it immediately," she said.

"They (the victim) can go within themselves. Sometimes they start to think that it's them, they're the problem not the other person that's the problem or the situation is the problem. They see themselves as 'I'm the problem, I'm not good, no one will ever love me....' It scars for life."

Part of that reasoning comes, she adds, from personal experience.

http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3368986

2/7/2012

St. Thomas Times-Journal

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"Actually, I'm putting together an elementary (school) reunion and there's some people there I still don't want to see because of some of the things that occurred."

The Pledge was part of the nationally-recognized Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week which runs until Nov. 18.

The Pledge itself, however, is the brainchild of Thames Valley District School Board staff. Thousands of St. Thomas and area adults and students took The Pledge including live readings on local radio shows.

CTV News London is tracking the number of people who recited the oath and by mid-day Monday, the pledge count was at over 34,000 people.

Students across the district took part in the reading. Among them were Pierre Elliott Trudeau French Immersion Public School students who read it in French and English, and Arthur Voaden Secondary School where students paused during the day to hear their peers speak over the P.A about what they stand for.

Copyright Š 2012 St. Thomas Times-Journal

http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3368986

2/7/2012

Song adds meaning to anti-bullying vow | London | News | London Free Press

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Song adds meaning to anti-bullying vow EDUCATION: Written by a teacher, Be An Upstander encourages students not to be bystanders

By KELLY PEDRO AND MIKE HENSEN, THE LONDON FREE PRESS Last Updated: November 15, 2011 7:41am

A sea of pink filled the gym at Northridge public school in northeast London as 672 pupils took a pledge to end bullying.

Along with the pledge, pupils sang a song written by the school's music teacher Jane Burkman, which has become an anthem for the school and the Thames Valley District school board.

Titled Be an Upstander, the song urges kids to speak up, stand up and take action when bullies are around.

The school board professionally recorded the song.

Burkman said the song came to her one day on her way home from work and she wrote down the lyrics as soon as she got home.

Burkman said she wrote the song for her sons, Doug and Ben, now fashion designers living in New York City, after finding out last year they were bullied while in high school in London.

"I promised them that one day I would write a song for them," she said.

VIDEO: Students at Northridge Public School, along with thousands of students in the London area, took a pledge to do something about bullying.

"A teacher came to me about two weeks ago and asked me if I could get a group together to perform for this assembly," she said.

The teacher had suggested another song, but Burkman didn't think it was uplifting enough.

The assembly was important to tell kids to stop bullying so no one gets hurt, said Erica Quinlan, a Grade 8 pupil at the school.

"It shows why bullying is important to stop," she said.

Pupils were urged during the assembly not just to talk about bullying, but to stop it.

"It all comes down to making a choice, a choice to help or to harm," 13-year-old Jamie Shaw, the school's deputy prime minister, told the pupils during the assembly. "We all want students to speak up or stand up when they see inappropriate behaviour in the community."

Thousands of London-area students -- in public and Catholic schools, in elementary and secondary and post-secondary schools -- pledged this week to end bullying as a way to mark anti-bullying awareness and prevention week. They promised to be "upstanders" and not bystanders in the push for mutual understanding and respect.

Tens of thousands of people have taken the pledge online. The campaign is spreading to the community with students and staff at Fanshawe College and workers at Cami Automotive taking the pledge.

Burkman said talking about bullying leading up to the assembly has helped.

"I think the children know when they take the pledge today, it'll make the difference for the majority of those students."

--- --- --THE PLEDGE The pledge to end bullying: “I believe that everyone has a right to be in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.”

E-mail kelly.pedro@sunmedia.ca, or follow KellyatLFPress on Twitter.

E-mail mike.hensen@sunmedia.ca, or follow MikeHatLFPress on Twitter.

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2/7/2012

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WESS students stand up to bullying Posted 2 months ago

This week, West Elgin Secondary Students (WESS) are standing up to bullying.

National Anti-Bullying Week is from Nov. 14-18. On Monday, WESS students gathered in the school gym to take part in the pledge to end bullying, by pledging "to be respectful of others, and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it."

This year, many students showed their support by wearing "Upstander" shirts, provided by the Thames Valley District School Board.

"They've taken the focus away from the bystander. Instead of being passive, you stand up and do what is right," explained WESS instructor Barb Ross.

WESS students were among the almost 30,000 people to take the pledge this year. For more info, visit www.tvdsb.ca/endbullying.

"On Monday, we had the entire school do the pledge," said Cindy McDowell, WESS Vice Principal. "We'd like to think they see their role in preventing bullying as being more proactive."

The WESS Leadership class took the lead with several Anti-Bullying week activities and promotions, including posters put up around the school and circulating questionnaires that list the myths and facts about bullying.

"I think by speaking up about bullying, it will show kids what will happen," said Mikayla Myers, a grade 11 student and Leadership class member. "Don't judge a book by its cover…I think if we get the word out, it will eventually stop."

Copyright © 2012 The Chronicle

http://www.thechronicle-online.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3371797

2/7/2012

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Thames Valley school board’s Pledge wins award 25 January 2012 12:30 The Thames Valley District School Board will be honoured for taking The Pledge.

The anti-bullying campaign is the first Canadian initiative of its kind to be recognized with a National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award from the U.S.-based School Safety Advocacy Council.

This award will be presented at the national conference on bullying Feb. 15 in Orlando, Fla. The Pledge is one of 12 programs from across North America to be recognized.

There were more than 75 nominations.

School board director Bill Tucker says the award is shared with the community.

“The Thames Valley District School Board submitted the award application on behalf of the community that has expressed its commitment to bring an end to bullying by registering more than 70,000 pledges,” says Tucker.

The campaign was widely supported by schools, businesses, news media and community organizations that told stories and planned activities to educate and raise awareness about bullying prevention.

Metro London

http://www.metronews.ca/ArticlePrint/1080257?language=en

2/7/2012

St. Thomas Times-Journal

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Bullying: School Safety Advocacy Council has recognized effort to create safer learning environment Updated 43 minutes ago

Less than two years after bullying helped lead Locke's Public School student Bryten Brown to suicide, Thames Valley District School Board is being internationally recognized for efforts to eradicate bullying.

The Pledge -- an oath thousands took in November highlighting the right to live in a safe, inclusive community and promising to stand-up against bullying -- is the first Canadian initiative being recognized by the United States' School Safety Advocacy Council.

TVDSB public affairs officer and co-chairwoman of the Pledge Julie Maltby says she wasn't surprised The Pledge was one of the 12 winners of the National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award.

"Even before we officially were announced the winner, we felt that it was a winner already....This is most certainly a community achievement," she said Thursday morning.

"I wasn't surprised that the pledge was recognized because this community did something very unique....There have been pledges in other communities but it's been restricted to the schools. This was community-wide and we have certainly not seen the level of media collaboration on another campaign."

She adds another part of the success was collaboration with the London District Catholic School Board. LDCSB superintendent John Mombourquette was on the organizing committee and helped incorporate the Pledge into the Catholic boarde's more than four dozen schools.

CTV News London tracked the number of people who recited the oath and by mid-day Nov. 14, the pledge count was at over 34,000 people. To date, over 70,000 have taken the pledge.

School Safety Advocacy Council executive director Curtis Lavarello said he's seen similar pledges before but TVDSB's was among if not the most comprehensive.

"The instruction to our judges... was we're not looking for a one-time shot in the arm to try to address bullying but more of a comprehensive strategy that the school embraces and bonus points for those who are also reaching outside the school walls," he said from Massachusetts.

Lavarello adds the council revived over 80 nominations for the award and to be named a winner -- especially the first from Canada -- is a great honour.

Besides his work with the School Safety Advocacy Council, Lavarello served on the Columbine Review Commission following the shootings at the Colorado school in 1999.

He emphasizes the importance of safe, bully-free environments especially in today's social-media obsessed world.

"What you're seeing so drastically in the bullying across the country is schoolyard bullying used to be pretty much an eight to four event," he explains.

"But with technology being what it is...with those social media outlets out there, bullying has extended well beyond the eight to four day and it involves weekends, it involves nights. So it's good of the the schools to work with the broader community."

TVDSB trustee Terry Roberts will be in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 15 for the council's National Conference on Bullying to accept the award.

Lavarello adds information on the winning initiatives will be put online shortly afterwards as a best-practices point of reference for other groups.

2/10/2012 10:00 AM

St. Thomas Times-Journal

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http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=3467927

Mayor Heather Jackson told the Times-Journal the award shows the county's school boards are on the right track in stopping bullies.

One of the pledge takers herself, Jackson says since Brown's suicide she's noticed more emphasis on safe school communities.

"After what what we went through with the loss of a student at Locke's school, it certainly made the community more aware that these issues are there, that bullying is a problem, brought it to the forefront. So I'm not surprised at all that the community jumped on and became really strong advocates for such as strong program," she said.

Jackson adds the support on that November day was inspiring and a good reflection on the community and its values.

"I love St. Thomas for reasons just like this. We seem to be able to band together when there's an issue that concerns the community and this is certainly an example of that."

Copyright Š 2012 St. Thomas Times-Journal

2/10/2012 10:00 AM

I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences.

I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.

This is to certify that

supported The Pledge to end bullying in Thames Valley as a Media Partner

Authorizing Signature

Authorizing Signature

I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences.

I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever and wherever I see it.

This is to certify that

supported The Pledge to end bullying in Thames Valley as a Media Partner

Authorizing Signature

Authorizing Signature

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online Thames Valley District School Board webpage devoted to The Pledge – starting Sept. 13, 2011

CTV News (London) homepage – starting Sept. 13, 2011

Appendix L

1

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online London District Catholic School Board, starting Nov. 1, 2011:

Brescia University College homepage, starting Nov. 1, 2011:

Appendix L

2

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online CAW Local 88 website – Nov. 14, 2011

Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre, Ingersoll – mid-November to current

Appendix L

3

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online King’s University College homepage – Nov 14 – 18, 2011 (one of five rotating banners)

London Public Library – Children’s and Parents’ Portal, Sept. - Nov., 2011

Appendix L

4

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online London Public Library – Teen Portal, Sept. - Nov., 2011

London Public Library Home Page – for two weeks in November

Appendix L

5

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online OSSTF District 11, posted Nov. 1, 2011 – with link to TVDSB Spotlight about The Pledge

Parent Guide Inc. Facebook page, Nov. 3, 2011

Appendix L

6

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online

Women’s Rural Resource Centre Facebook page (Strathroy), Nov. 17, 2011

CTV Barrie launched its own Pledge website in late November.

Appendix L

7

Sample of Community Partners promoting The Pledge online

TVDSB Facebook page announcing the National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award – January 25, 2012

Appendix L

8

The Pledge – Measurement of Media Coverage Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed June 28, 2011: “TVDSB Director pledges to continue anti-bullying work” Woodstock Sentinel-Review: “Get ready to take the anti-bullying pledge” – posted/published on June 28, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Director of Education Bill Daily Newspaper –  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Tucker appeared in print and online community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Content Analysis Positive 5 mentions of The Pledge; 4 quotes from spokesperson

Bob FM: Interview with Director of Education Tucker – posted/published Aug. 11, 2011 – as part of the radio station’s “Random Act of Kindness” promotion Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media Content communication Analysis Take The Pledge to end bullying Director of Education Bill Radio – appeared online and Positive  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Tucker on-air 1 mention of The community safety by raising website Pledge awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

No. of Pledges registered on website 0 (Website not launched until Sept. 12, 2011)

No. of Pledges registered on website 0 (Website not launched until Sept. 12, 2011)

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed June 28, 2011: “TVDSB Director pledges to continue anti-bullying work” Interrobang: “Bringing an end to bullying” – posted/published on Aug. 29, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Student Newspaper – appeared online

Content Analysis Positive 5 mentions of The Pledge; 1 quote from spokesperson

No. of Pledges registered on website 0 (Website not launched until Sept. 12, 2011)

1

PSA by lead partner CTV London– Cyberbullying PSA – aired Sept. 9 – Nov. 18 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic communication Take The Pledge to end bullying  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Spokesperson quoted

Type of Media

Media Partner

CTV London Local News – appeared online

Spokesperson quoted

Type of Media

Media Partner

CTV London Local News – appeared online

Content Analysis Positive 1 mention of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website

Content Analysis Positive 1 mention of The Pledge; Discussed key messages

No. of Pledges registered on website

Content Analysis Positive 9 mentions of The Pledge; 3 quotes from Julie Maltby; 7 quotes from Mandi Fields

No. of Pledges registered on website 350 as of Sept. 14

PSA by lead partner CTV London– Begins at Home – aired Sept. 9 – Nov. 18 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic communication Take The Pledge to end bullying  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Sept. 13, 2011: “New website invites Thames Valley to take The Pledge” The Londoner: Take the Pledge Putting a stop to bullying – posted/published on Sept. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby; Community Relations community safety by raising website Coordinator at CTV London awareness about bullying Mandi Fields  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Weekly Newspaper – appeared online

2

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Sept. 13, 2011: “New website invites Thames Valley to take The Pledge” Metro: Are you ready to take The Pledge against bullying? –posted/published on Sept. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Daily Newspaper – appeared online

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge; 4 quotes from Julie Maltby

No. of Pledges registered on website 350 as of Sept. 14

Content Analysis Positive Posted Verbatim 8 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 460 Sept. 17

Content Analysis Positive Discussed key messaged; The Pledge was read five times by radio listeners

No. of Pledges registered on website

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Sept. 13, 2011: “New website invites Thames Valley to take The Pledge” London Community News: Take The Pledge to end bullying – posted/published on Sept. 17, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Members of organizing  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the committee community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Daily Newspaper – appeared online

Promotion provided by a media partner FM 96: A series of six Rise Against contest winners – aired/posted on FM96 Facebook page Sept. 29 and 30, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partner Radio – appeared online and  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the on-air community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

3

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Oct. 12, 2011: “Clara Brenton PS hosts musical anti-bullying group” CTV London– Delivering a Message about Bullying – aired Oct. 13, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic communication Take The Pledge to end bullying  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Spokesperson quoted

Type of Media

Public Affairs Officer Julie Maltby

CTV London Local News – appeared on television and online

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge; 1 quote from Julie Maltby

No. of Pledges registered on website 10,123 by Oct. 13 (rise of about 2,000 Pledges overnight after this airing)

Content Analysis Positive 5 mentions of The Pledge; 4 quotes from Julie Maltby

No. of Pledges registered on website 15,065 by Oct. 18

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 18,093 by Oct. 25

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Oct. 12, 2011: “Clara Brenton PS hosts musical anti-bullying group” London Community News: Clara Brenton PS hosts musical anti-bullying duo – posted/published on Oct. 18, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie Daily Newspaper –  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby appeared online community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention Written for publication by a member of the organizing committee Off the Wall (CAW Local 88 newsletter): Human Rights column - posted/distributed Oct. 24, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Human Rights Rep. for CAW  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Local 88 Anne MacMeekin community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Monthly Newsletter – appeared online

4

Invited by an organizing committee member Off the Wall: (CAW Local 88 newsletter): Take The Pledge to stand up to workplace bullying – posted/distributed Oct. 24, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie Monthly Newsletter –  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby appeared online community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 18,093 by Oct. 25

Content Analysis Positive 2 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 19,740 by Nov. 2

Content Analysis Positive Discussed key messages

No. of Pledges registered on website 20,077 by Nov. 3

PSA posted as part of the terms of media partnership News Talk 1290 CJBK: The Pledge to End Bullying – posted/published on Nov. 1, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media partnership  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Radio – appeared online and on-air

Called in to paper by school representative Ingersoll Times: Taking the pledge at Royal Roads – posted/published on Nov. 3, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Teacher at Royal Roads PS  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Francine Overeem community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Daily Newspaper – appeared online

5

PSA published after meeting with the Londoner ad sales coordinator The Londoner: The Pledge to End Bullying – posted/published on Nov. 3, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partnership  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Weekly Newspaper – appeared in print

Content Analysis Positive 4 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 20,077 by Nov. 3

Result of personal meeting with VP Communications Western News at the University of Western Ontario: Western policies echoed community anti-bullying pledge – posted/published on Nov. 10, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media Content communication Analysis Take The Pledge to end bullying Director of equity and human Newsletter – appeared in Neutral  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the rights services Larissa Bartlett print Discussed key community safety by raising website messages awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

No. of Pledges registered on website 26,003 by Nov. 11

PSA published after meeting with the Sentinel-Review publisher The Sentinel-Review: The Pledge to End Bullying – posted/published on Nov. 10, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partnership  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared in print

Content Analysis Positive 4 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 26,003 by Nov. 11

6

PSA aired after meeting with 106.9 the X marketing director 106.9 - Join the team at 106.9 The X in taking The Pledge against bullying – posted/aired Nov. 14-18 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partner  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Video – appeared online

Content Analysis Positive 4 mentions of The Pledge; Covered main messages

No. of Pledges registered on website 34,083 by Nov. 14

Content Analysis Positive 6 mentions of The Pledge; 1 quote from Bill Tucker

No. of Pledges registered on website 34,083 by Nov. 14

Content Analysis Positive 1 mention of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” AM980 News Talk Sports: Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week in London Begins – posted/published on Nov. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted Type of Media communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Director of Education Bill Radio – appeared in print  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Tucker community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” News Talk 1290 CJBK: Anti Bullying Week – posted/published on Nov. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partnership  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Radio – in print

7

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” The London Free Press: Bullying opponents make it personal – posted/published on Nov. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Co-founder of the London  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Anti-Bullying Coalition community safety by raising website Corina Morrison awareness about bullying Directory of Education Bill  Educating the community Tucker about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

Content Analysis Positive 8 mention of The Pledge; 5 quotes from Corina Morrison; 2 quotes from Bill Tucker

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Content Analysis Positive 7 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” Metro: Thames Valley starts dedicated effort to end bullying – posted/published on November 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” St. Thomas Times-Journal: Elgin Court takes The Pledge – posted/published on November 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying MPP Jeff Yurek, Elgin Court  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the principal Jim Bowden, school community safety by raising website support councillor Lorie awareness about bullying Shook  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

8

FM96: Radio Hosts Take the Pledge to End Bullying – posted/published Nov. 14, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Media Partner  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Radio – appeared online and on-air

Content Analysis Positive 1 mention of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Content Analysis Positive 5 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Content Analysis Positive 4 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” Sentinel-Review: Taking a stand against bullying – posted/published on Nov. 15, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Winchester PS principal Susan  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Davis community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online and in print

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed November 13, 2011: “Thousands take The Pledge to end bullying” The London Free Press: Song adds meaning to anti-bullying vow – posted/published on Nov. 15, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Northridge PS music teacher  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Jane Burkman community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

9

Heart FM: News 4 p.m. – posted/published Nov. 15, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic communication Take The Pledge to end bullying  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Spokesperson quoted

Type of Media

Police Chief Rod Freeman

Radio – appeared online and on-air

Heart FM: News 5 p.m. - Bullying in the Workplace – posted/aired Nov. 16, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Human Rights Rep. for CAW  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Local 88 Anne MacMeekin community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Radio – appeared online and on-air

Content Analysis Positive All key messages covered

No. of Pledges registered on website 59,139 by Nov. 15

Content Analysis Positive 1 mention of The Pledge; Effectively discussed all key messages

No. of Pledges registered on website 60,247 by Nov. 16

Content Analysis Positive 3 mentions of The Pledge

No. of Pledges registered on website 63,927 by Nov. 17

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Nov. 15, 2011: “More than 59,000 take The Pledge against bullying” The Chronicle: WESS students stand up to bullying – posted/published on Nov. 16, 2011 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying WESS Vice Principal Cindy  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the McDowell, WESS instructor community safety by raising website Barb Ross awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

10

Invited by the editor of Leaders & Learners Leaders & Learners: Take The Pledge to End Bullying – posted/published in December Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Members of organizing  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the committee community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Type of Media Newsletter Magazine – appeared online and in print

Content Analysis Positive 18 mentions of The Pledge All key messages covered by author

No. of Pledges registered on website 70,012 by Dec. 31

Measurement of media pickup of news release distributed Jan. 25, 2012: “The Pledge is first Canadian anti-bullying program to win U.S. award” St. Thomas Times-Journal: Pledge acclaimed by U.S. group – posted/published on Feb. 10, 2012 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Public Affairs Officer Julie  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Maltby community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Heart FM (104.7): Thames Valley Takes The Pledge – aired/posted Jan. 25 Strategic objective(s) addressed by Key topic Spokesperson quoted communication Take The Pledge to end bullying Director of Education Bill  To improve school and and register your Pledge on the Tucker community safety by raising website awareness about bullying  Educating the community about bullying prevention  Positioning TVDSB as a leader in bullying prevention

Appendix M

Type of Media Newspaper – appeared online

Type of Media Radio – appeared online and on-air

Content Analysis Positive 4 mentions of The Pledge; 3 quotes by Julie Maltby

No. of Pledges registered on website 70,213 by Jan. 26

Content Analysis Positive All key messages covered

No. of Pledges registered on website 70,213 by Jan. 26

11