District Legislators Speak at Valley Road School Olweus Event

As part of the Clark School District’s ongoing commitment to providing a bully-free environment, the District has kicked off the nationally acclaimed Olweus Bullying Prevention Program each of the district schools.  Olweus is a research based program that takes steps to end bullying.

To kick off this program for the students, Valley Road School, Frank K. Hehnly School, and Carl H. Kumpf Middle School each had a special kickoff day. The kickoff featured an assembly program, a carnival and an assortment of team building activities. The carnival allowed students to work on skills of cheering each other on, while the team building activities allowed the students to work on listening, cooperating, following directions, and getting to know one another.

This is the latest initiative addressing the quest for a bully-free environment in the Clark Schools. This past February eighth grade and high school students attended a moving assembly program by national presenter John Halligan, whose son, Ryan, commit suicide at age 13 in 2003, as a result of four years of bullying and cyber bullying. Halligan is returning to district in December to speak to the middle school students at the Carl H. Kumpf School.

On Oct. 11, both the Frank K. Hehnly School and Valley Road School launched the Olweus kickoff program. Twenty-second district legislators Assemblywoman Linda Stender and Assemblyman Jerry Green were the keynote speakers at the Valley Road School kickoff assembly.  Both legislators delivered moving talks on bullying and their own personal experiences with bullying as children. Each stated their commitment to eliminating bullying in the schools, praised the Clark School District for so proactively addressing bullying prevention in the schools and encouraged the impressionable students to treat their schoolmates with respect and kindness.