INUVIK
Some day, the staff and students of East Three Elementary School hope to be at their WITS end.

East Three Elementary School teacher Cathi Ross helped to organize an anti-bullying rally for the school April 10. Dressed in matching T-shirts at the event are Alexis Robbins, front, and Zoe Hansen, in the back on the left, Autumn Gordon-Thrasher and Dexter Noksana. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

That's the name of the popular and successful anti-bullying program that was celebrated during an assembly April 10. It's an acronym for walk away, ignore it, talk it out and seek assistance, a system designed to develop the tools to handle bullying.

Nearly everyone at the assembly was decked out in a pink shirt to mark anti-bullying day. The official Pink Shirt Day had taken place earlier this year, on a day when the school wasn't in session, and the presentation had been rescheduled.

The assembly featured comments from Inuvik-Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses and Inuvik Mayor Floyd Roland.

Roland told the students he's been told he's a bully on more than one occasion, a fact that he attributed to his size. He promised the students to work harder on minimizing that perception, just as they're trying to curb bullying amongst themselves.

Moses spoke eloquently about the issue.

GNWT sends out anti-bullying message

"You can show respect to your parents, your teachers, and the students who are smaller than you," he said.

He also mentioned the new anti-bullying regulations for NWT schools to eliminate bullying.

"We want to ensure that each and every one of you can come to school, have fun and play in a safe environment where you won't be picked on, where you won't be teased, where you won't be bullied, where you come to school and have a good day."

Moses said he had seen statistics suggesting eight of 10 NWT girls had been bullied, and seven of 10 boys.

Teacher Cathi Ross was one of the main organizers of the event. She said that even with the WITS program, bullying remains a problem at the school and in the community.

It's not often the overt, physical kind of bullying that might spring to mind for most people when they hear bullying mentioned, she said. Rather, it's a lack of common courtesy and acceptance of social boundaries the school deals with most often.

Program teaches basic respect

"It's a fairly big problem here. Not so much the really violent and physical aspects, although that does happen, too. It's a lot of teasing, a lot of unkind words, a lot of hurt feelings and pushing and just not acting respectfully to each other."

"We've noticed over this that we're seeing a decline in bullying, and I think all the teachers reinforce it quite often and talk about it with the kids."

Ross said the WITS program is all about education and empowering the students.

"We really feel it's important to educate the kids, to let them know how to protect themselves and give them strategies to help them cope," she said.

"We want to let them know who they can turn to and how to react if they are bullied. And they're learning how to deal with it."

Ross said even with the acceptance of the program and its success so far, there are still students who push beyond the boundaries.

"It's important to teach the other children what to do. It's not behaviour that children are born knowing. They have to be taught that. So we teach both aspects of it."

Student Alexendria Testart said she had been bullied, but only a little.

"I think the program helps," she said.