At SMS, we live by the Golden Rule:

Treat other people the way you would like for them to treat you.

Shawsville Middle School – Where Bullying is against the Rules!

SMS students and staff set out to eliminate bullying from our school beginning in 2003.  First, we defined bullying so we could recognize it when it happens.  Our definition has 3 parts and an incident must include all three parts before it can be called bullying.

Bullying occurs when a student

Ø     Is exposed repeatedly and over time,

Ø     To Negative Actions on the part of one or more students, and

Ø     There is a perceived imbalance of power.

  

We ask all SMS students to take the anti-bullying pledge:

Ø     I will not bully others.

Ø     I will try to help others who are being bullied.

Ø     I will make a point to include students who may feel left out.

There are 4 kinds of bullying that students experience.  They are

  1. Relational Bullying: The use of peer pressure and manipulation to isolate and/or harmfully target an individual.

  1. Verbal Bullying: Mocking, threatening, and spreading gossip or rumors or lies about someone to isolate or hurt an individual’s feelings or reputation. Gossip is a form of bullying. It includes talking about other people, writing notes about others, writing in “Slam” books or online talk about others.  It is one of the most disruptive behaviors in school because it often leads to hurt feelings and anger, which sometime result in fights. 

 

  1. Physical Bullying: Hitting, shoving, tripping, or in any other way using physical force to cause harm or embarrassment to an individual.

 4.     Cyberbullying: Harassing, humiliating, intimidating, threatening, or gossiping about others on the Internet or through any technological device using words, pictures, or suggestions to harm an individual.

For more information about Bullying, check out these web sites.

Stop Bullying Now! http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

No Bully  http://www.myparentime.com/articles/articleS67.shtml

   

Don’t be a Bystander, Report Bullying!

To report an incident that you believe is bullying at SMS,

Call or email our principal, Mrs. Counts

 540-268-2262  rkahila@mail.mcps.org

 OR

To make an anonymous report use the state reporting number

4-Safe-VA

This toll-free school safety hotline has been established to assist students in reporting safety concerns at school.  To confidentially report a dangerous situation at school, please call 1-877-4-SAFE-VA (1-877-472-3382).