Back to School
A Message from our Scientific Co-Directors
It’s September and back to school – an exciting time for many children and youth, but for too many, it is also a time of fear and trepidation. Those are the young people who don’t look back on the last school year with memories of good friendships, enjoyment of extracurricular clubs and sports, and passing with good grades. Instead, they remember the times they were bullied, sometimes once, sometimes much more than that.
In this issue of PREVspectives, we look at the importance of developing healthy relationships and preventing bullying as school gets underway. There is a wealth of resources at www.prevnet.ca, including videos, tip sheets, and tools for educators, parents, teens, and children. We also have a special section on cyberbulling.
PREVNet has updated the Teacher’s Guide that is an important component of Family Channel’s StandUP! Campaign for Bullying Awareness Week. You’ll find a link to the new guide in this issue. And we’ll introduce you to a new back to school guide for parents that has been published by the Government of Nova Scotia. Much of the material in the parents’ handbook was originally published in PREVNet’s book, “Bullying Prevention: What Parents Need to Know”. We’ll also introduce you to a MyHealth Magazine’s 30 Day Challenge – a series of bullying prevention sessions for students in Grades 7 and 8.
PREVNet researchers and partners have been in high demand by media outlets as school returns and you’ll be able to see some of those articles and broadcasts. Also in this issue, we invited some of our partners to share their Back to School bullying prevention messages, and we’re pleased to pass those along.
We hope you find this Back to School edition of PREVspectives interesting and informative, and as always, we’re happy to hear what you think. You can email Andrew Barrett, PREVNet’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator at andrew.barrett@queensu.ca
Debra Pepler and Wendy Craig
In this issue:
- Back to School tips, tools and resources from PREVNet
- Nova Scotia Parents’ Handbook - Bullying & Cyberbullying: What We Need to Know
- MyHealth Magazine 30 Day Challenge to prevent bullying
- Family Channel – Bullying Awareness Week
- PREVNet Researchers and Partners “In the News”
- Bullying Prevention Messages from our Partners