On Monday, Oct. 17, the students of Our Lady of Hope Regional School participated in an enrichment program, sponsored by Mobile Ed Productions, Inc., called Stronger Than A Bully. This school assembly program is based on demonstrating the techniques aimed at empowering the victim and is packed with important lessons communicated through lots of audience participation, magic, ventriloquism, role playing, comedy and fun!
Stronger Than A Bully features the use of two acronyms specifically designed and aimed at helping students to avoid becoming the victim of a bully. The first of these is S.M.I.L.E. (which stands for Stay cool. Make eye contact, Identify the attack, Lead positive conversation, and Erase the attack). These demonstrate the actions for the person being bullied. The second acronym is H.E.R.O. (which means Help out, Empathize, Respond and Open Communication) and it explains the actions of the bystander.
The assembly was broken into three sessions based on grade levels and each session was tailored so that the students could relate to the examples used and the information provided. Students were asked to participate and become part of this assembly in hopes that they would become more aware of how to avoid becoming a victim of bullying and how to help out their friends if they should fall victim to bullying as well.