Sponsored by Cambridge Bay RCMP in partnership with the community health nurse and others, the program hopes to get a head start on an issue that is grabbing headlines in many southern communities.

Indeed, the program's content -- a first for Nunavut -- is borrowed from similar initiatives in British Columbia.

There's even an acronym: "BRAVE" stands for Bullying Resistance And Violence Education.

Students in Grades 6 and 7 attending Kullik school, and Grades 8 and 9 at Kiilinik high school will be the first to go through the paces.

Everything gets going this week with teacher training, says Kiilinik school principal Elliot Johnson.

"We're inundated with this topic in the news," he explains. "We're starting out small with classes in both schools, later expanding to the whole school."

BRAVE isn't here because the community sees a bullying problem, but rather to get a jump on a dark issue that adults often never see until serious injury occurs.

"There's some form of bullying in all schools in all times," says local RCMP Sgt. Gary Peck, acknowledging its age-old schoolyard presence.

"There are no specific incidents at these schools, but I'm sure there are some individuals who could be classified as bullies," Peck says.

On that note, BRAVE isn't just for schools. Bullies can be any age. The program will also help the community at large come to grips with the problem.

"We have a lot of proactive participation here," Peck says, noting there is a community steering committee to red flag bullies and victims.

BRAVE is a package of group discussions, videos and role-playing opportunities that help students -- and the larger community -- identify the bully and the bullied.

"A lot of it has to do with effective communication, such as finding a nice way to say hard things, how to react to a bullying situation and how to stand up to peer pressure," Peck says.

"This program has run successfully elsewhere, but we've adapted it to fit the needs of our community," he says.

RCMP constables here are keen to see BRAVE help build positive relationships between it, Cambridge Bay's schools and the community.

But Peck wants it made clear that BRAVE isn't just a police program, it also has the active support of public health nurse Amber Jackson and other members of the community.

"It takes a lot of effort and time to commit to making the program happen. We're lucky we have a lot of core people involved," Peck explains.