October is Bullying Awareness Month

At Royal School, we strive to create a Safe, Caring, and Inclusive environment for all. We are guided by Manitoba's Safe Schools Charter and the Safe and Inclusive Schools legislation. We have five statements that form the foundation of our Royal School Respect Agreement:

1. We use kind words when speaking to others (give compliments and use respectful language);
2. We include everyone (in the classroom and outside the classroom);
3. We keep everyone safe (no verbal, written, or physical hits);
4. We follow adult direction (teachers, EAs, guest teachers, lunch supervisors, bus drivers, custodians);
5. We show respect for property (our own, other people's, the school's, and the environment).

These five statements are ideas that are also embedded within Pembina Trails School Division's Standard of Behaviour document.

With our whole-school approach to planning for a safe, caring, and inclusive school, we strive to provide ongoing staff professional development and resources including:

1. Trauma Informed Schools training;
2. Commit 2 Kids training on child sexual abuse prevention;
3. Respect in Sport training to prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination;
4. ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training).

We have core curricular programs that provide a strength-based positive approach towards interactions, relationships, empathy, and problem solving, while teaching bullying prevention skills including:

1. Kelso's Choice - (whole school) training in problem solving and bullying prevention;
2. Kids in the Know - (whole school) training in building resiliency and "reducing the likelihood of victimization in the online and offline world";
3. Zones of Regulation - (whole school) training in self-regulation strategies 
4. Roots of Empathy - (in grade 3DF for 2024-25) teaching empathy as the foundation for positive relationships and inclusion;
5. Project 11 Mental Health - (in upper grades) teaching mental health skills and positive coping strategies.

Our approach to problem-solving uses the Restitution approach and focuses on creating conditions for the person to fix their mistake and return to the group with a strengthened skill set to work together towards safety and inclusion.

We strive to teach the differences amongst disagreements, arguments, conflict, and bullying. We acknowledge that creating a safe, caring, and inclusive environment is a complex endeavour. Students affected by harmful behaviours (including bullying) receive support to address and restore their sense of safety and inclusion. Students demonstrating harmful behaviours (including bullying) receive support and necessary interventions as part of our goal of Safety, Caring, and Inclusion for All.