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LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
Mackenzie Mountain School students are learning how to deal with bullying, thanks to a pilot program that started at the beginning of the school year.

Peacemakers Jed McDonald, front, and Janesta Manuel are both members of Mackenzie Mountain School’s Peacemakers program. They help staff supervise during recess and assist with student conflicts that arise. - photo courtesy of Katherine Brach

WITS, which stands for Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out and Seek help, is a program that teaches students how to respond to conflict situations, said Katherine Brach, school counsellor.

The model is being employed at schools across Canada.

Brach said the program’s primary role is to provide students with options when dealing with peer victimization.

“We want kids to be able to talk about bullying and seek help if they’re in a situation they don’t feel safe in,” she said.

But the program has other benefits as well, she added.

RCMP and the fire marshall pay monthly visits to the school, adding a community involvement aspect to the project.

During the program’s launch at the beginning of the year, students in kindergarten to Grade 3 were made honorary WITS special constables at a school-wide assembly.

Officers told stories about incidents where they had to employ the same skills the WITS program will teach students, such as talking about problems.

“It’s a way to involve the community so it’s not just the teachers,” Brach said. “They’ve been really active as our community liaisons.”

The program is also incorporated into each class’ curriculum, including reading books with an anti-bullying message during English Language Arts class. The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Teasing is listed on the WITS website as an example of a book that emphasizes the “Talk it out” and “Seek help” principles.

Brach said students learn the importance of making positive choices when faced with conflict.

“It’s really a choice that kids make,” she said. “They can choose to be the bully or they can choose to be a bystander.”

Peacemakers Team

In addition to WITS, the school also has its own program, which began last January, said Brach. Students are selected to act as playground monitors and peer mediators, known as Peacemakers.

This year’s team mainly consists of students in grades 5 and 6. They are chosen by their homeroom teacher and principal and must be in good academic standing and willing to act as role models for the other students.

Students are also chosen because they are good leaders, or if they could benefit from learning about what it takes to make a good leader, Brach added.

“Their main job is supervising recess, two kids at a time outdoors supervising along with a teacher,” Brach said. “Their main job is to play with the kids, but also if a conflict arises, to be there to help kids use their WITS.”

Students meet once a week and are taught about peer mediation and conflict resolution, as well active listening and communications skills.

Brach said the programs are a perfect fit.

“The two programs really work nicely together,” she said.

Grade 7 student Jed McDonald has been a member of the team since it started last year. He said the group also holds mediation sessions with other students, if necessary.

“If there is a conflict that happens between friends, we bring them into peer mediation,” he said. “We ask them, ‘what’s the problem?’ We don’t take sides.

“We try to find a solution to the conflict.”

If tempers are still too hot at the time, Peacemakers will try and schedule another time where everyone is available to talk and sort out problems.

McDonald said to him, being a part of the team is about making school a safe place for everyone.

“We want to keep bullying away from our school so we can have a peaceful and good year,” he said.

Brach said a $500 donation from Imperial Oil allowed the team to purchase red-hooded sweatshirts that say Peacemaker on them, enabling other students to easily recognize members of the team if they need help.

Brach said it’s important to remember that everyone has a choice when it comes to how they treat others.

“The bully is inside everybody, but we have a choice to be that person or not,” she said.

Brach said establishing a student team as part of a greater network of teachers and community members makes preventing and dealing with bullying a lot easier for everyone.

“When a situation arises, there are a lot more people who are available to help,” she said. “I think kids are feeling that message – that they can go to people.”

Working to ensure students have someone they can turn to is part of what the team is all about, she added.

“We’re sending a message to kids, ‘you’re important and we care about you’,” she said.

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