Bully Busters - A FREE Service to the Community
Bully
Busters has been proliferating through the community
like gangbusters. Thanks to the great support and
leadership of concerned principals, teachers,
community leaders, and parents, this program has
been offered to 100's of students in Kanata at
public and Catholic schools, private academies,
non-profit organizations like the Girl Guides, in
both official languages, English and French, ranging
in group size from 4 to 100+.
"On behalf of the class, I
would like to thank you for your excellent Bully
Buster program. This seminar engaged the students
into meaningful dialogue about bullying and
gave them strategies for dealing with a bully.
Your class gave the students an opportunity to
practice their communication skills in a fun and
'hands-oh manner. This class helped build an
awareness of the many faces of bullying. The
lessons the students have gained will follow them
throughout their life. Thanks again for
volunteering
your time." -
Rebecca Murphy, Educator, Kanata Montessori School
"Phil and Amelia Nguyen have created an interactive
and interesting way for children to learn about the
various forms of bullying and non-violent
strategies to deal with a bully. Our grade 5/6
class at John Young Elementary School thoroughly
enjoyed the discussions and hands-on activities
associated with the program. The students learned
the skills, knowledge and values that will take them
through their life time". - M. Malek Principal
John Young E.S."
We are nominating Phil
for civic recognition for his efforts to give back
to his community through a volunteer program Phil
and his wife Amelia created that is called Bully
Busters.
Phil and Amelia have
volunteered to visit many local schools in the
Kanata area and present this critical program to
our youth of all ages. They teach the children
some very simple techniques to deal with a bully by
using body language and verbal skills. Phil
also talks to the children about their personal
experiences with bullies and inspires them to have
the self-confidence to manage the situation
successfully.
Having witnessed a
class first hand, I can testify to the immediate
results and success. The children told of
personal experiences that, as a parent, were
troubling to listen to, but the same children were
beaming with confidence at the end of the class
with the new tools they had been given to deal with
an all too real crisis in our schools and
playgrounds.
Phil and Amelia are
giving our children a skill they can use for the
rest of their life. Just imagine the impact
this lesson has on their confidence that will serve
them well in every aspect of their lives.
What an amazing
gift to give to our children and we hope you
share our view and recognize it with a civic award.
-
Allan Hubley, President, Glen Cairn Community
Association
Bully Busters - An Award-Winning Program
Phil
and Amelia Nguyen were recently awarded with the
Sandra Ball Youth Recognition Award "for teaching
our youngest residents the skills needed to avoid
conflict and protect themselves in order to make our
community a better and safer place for our youth".
They had the honour of meeting with Mr. Gordon
O'Connor, MP (Carleton-Mississippi Mills) and Mr.
Norman W. Sterling, MPP (Lanark-Carleton). As per
the plaque and certificates they received, Mr.
O'Connor stated "Your enthusiasm and commitment to
enhancing your community is sincerely appreciated.",
while Mr. Sterling said "This is fitting recognition
of your commitment to community. I join with your
family and friends in saluting your efforts."
"Mr. & Mrs.
Nguyen discussed bullying and focused on the
importance of communication skills, assertiveness
skills, and martial arts skills to deal with
bullying. They emphasized the importance of respect,
and also taught the grade fives some useful verbal
techniques to use in bullying situations. The
students were able to practice these techniques and
did so with confidence." - K. A. Dalrymple, Grade 5
Teacher, Jack Donohue Public School
One of the workshops we included in our Personal
Development Workshops for our grades 7 & 8 students,
was a series of sessions with the Bully Busters
Program. It was fun for the students and was
extremely helpful with tangible advice and many
practical strategies that promoted safety,
self-confidence, and respect for our young
people. I feel strongly about this program and the
positive outlook and personal discipline displayed
and modeled by the teachers who came to our school.
I commend the Bully Busters joint partnership with
Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa, for it complements
its philosophy and puts into action the mission of
CAYFO. We are looking forward to repeating this
educational and enriching experience next year. - M.
D. Church Vice-Principal, Joan of Arc Academy
4-Step Process to Bring
Bully Busters to Your School
Step 1: Review basic information and our
requirements
Information
-
Workshop
duration: 45min-60min.
-
Offered
in both official languages, English and/or French.
-
Target
age groups: children aged 5-7 and youth aged 8-13
-
Ideal
number of students per session: 25-30
-
Maximum number of
students per session: 100
Requirements
-
Gym
space/facility (including 2 chairs for the session
facilitators)
-
Permission forms signed by parents/guardians
allowing participants to take part in the
program/workshop (this form to include request for
permission to take photos or videos of the session
for news or promotional purposes of Bully Busters –
In the Media below). We can provide you with a
Sample Permission Form.
-
Teachers and assistants present to help out with the
role plays (have some chairs for them as well)
-
A
Letter of Recommendation or testimonial by you
following the workshop (to help promote this
workshop to other schools, principals, teachers, and
parents)
-
OPTIONAL: A donation to the following
non-profit organization is greatly
appreciated. Typical donations are $5-$10 per
student (e.g. 50 students = $250-$500). Please
write a cheque to Black Belt Excellence Inc.
and give this to us immediately following the
session(s) and we will be pleased to donate this
on your behalf:
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre - Bully
Prevention Program
On behalf of the board, clients, staff, and
volunteers of the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC), I
would like to take this opportunity to let you know how much your support
is appreciated. It is through generous donations from individuals,
community groups, and businesses that we are able to continue to make a
difference in our community. In today's fast-paced world of
change and uncertainty, it means so much to know that our future is one
that includes such compassionate and caring community members.
We believe that the best way to help people
is to assist them in reaching their goals. Through support,
services, and resources, the WOCRC is able to reach out and connect with
those facing difficulties and work with them in making choices that are
informed, safe, and just. Your donation means that we are able to
continue to find solutions to the issues our community is facing. - Cathy
Jordan, Executive Director, Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC)
Ecole Jean-Paul II making a donation to the
Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre
On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff,
and young people at Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa, thank you for the
donation you made to our organization. The funds will go directly
towards our new leadership program carried out with a local school and
benefits young students in the area of literacy, teamwork, safety, and
community capacity building.
The good work carried by Bully Busters is
timely especially at a time when bullying and violence are frequent items
in the media and of concern to far too many young people. It is
made more important in that you not only provide this critical service but
also donate the proceeds to an organization committed to raising the
profile of safety and young people. - David Millen, Executive
Director, Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa
Step 2: Contact us for a Needs Analysis and to book
a date
Once
you've reviewed the above information and believe
your school/organization can meet our requirements,
you may contact us to do a needs analysis so we can
customize the workshop to your specific needs and
circumstances. We then book a date for the
Bully Busters workshop.
To book a FREE Bully Busters workshop for your
school, contact
us at (613) 831-9333 or
phil.nguyen@blackbeltexcellence.com.
Book soon as we only hold a limited amount of
sessions per year.
Step 3: Hold the Bully Busters workshop
The typical
workshop outline is as follows:
-
Welcome and
Introductions
-
Fun and dynamic warm-up and physical exercises
-
Focused
conversation on the serious topic of Bullying
-
Interactive
exercises and role plays
-
Review and group photo
To view photos of a typical Bully Busters
workshop, click here
Step 4: Follow-up
If
you have chosen to donate, you may submit your donation
immediately following the workshop.
If
you and the children enjoyed the workshop, you can
then either mail or e-mail your testimonial or
letter of recommendation to us to encourage other
concerned principals, teachers, and parents to bring
the Bully Busters workshop to their schools.
Congratulations, together we have helped provide
children with more effective ways to respond to
bullying.
"Students were taught to walk with confidence and to
communicate effectively with both verbal and
non-verbal messages. Then they sat down with
students and talked openly about issues of bullying.
Each student was given the opportunity to share
their experiences with the group in an open and safe
environment. Phil and Amelia quickly gained the
respect of the students by learning all of their
names and responding to their stories in a
compassionate manner. At the end of the
presentation, students were introduced to empowering
phrases and assertive movements to help build
confidence. As teachers, we were very impressed with
the discipline and the structure during this
presentation. The program was a great mix of
physical movement and group discussion. We would
highly recommend this program to other schools. It
complemented our school's Bully Prevention Program
and reaffirmed the much-needed message that bullying
is not acceptable. Thank you very much for visiting
our school." - J. Ogston, Grade 5 Teacher, T.
Cochrane, Grade 4 Teacher, Kanata Academy
Notes from Children
Dear Mr.
and Mrs. Nguyen,
Thank you
for coming to our school. I really liked
that you taught us how to respond to bullies;
walking with confidence, using proper eye contact,
and what to say. I also liked the stretches
and the fun warm-up. - Madison, Grade 4
I learned
that you shouldn't say mean or bad words to a bully
but what respectful things you can say instead.
- Sydney, Grade 3
My
favourite part was when we did the Bully Busters
role playing. - Olivia, Grade 4
I learned a
lot and now know what to do when a bully starts to
pick on me. It was also a very good
conversation. The program was very good and
fun. - Abby, Grade 3
Thank you
for teaching us a defending strategy, which gave
me the ability to respond to bullies. The
stretches were refreshing. I love your program
and your goal. Thanks again for all your help.
- Savvas, Grade 4
Bully Busters - In the Media
August 31, 2007 - Bully Busters featured on A-Channel Television
.jpg)  Mr.
and Mrs. Nguyen, were featured on
A-Channel Morning - Back-to-School edition, to share effective,
non-violent bullying response strategies from our academy's Bully
Busters program. This is Ottawa's #1 rated morning show with an
estimated quarter of a million daily viewers.
To view photos of this event, click here
 To
view this video segment which appeared on A-Channel, click here
.jpg)
 
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Our
unique award-winning* Bully Busters workshop,
available in English and French,
teaches elementary school children assertiveness
skills, communication skills and martial arts
skills to respond to bullying and other schoolyard
conflicts in a confident, non-physical, and
peaceful manner.
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