GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — On Monday evening, Union High School's Interact Committee and Representative Council of Learners (RCL) attended an anti-bullying workshop conducted by drama therapist, Paula Kingwill.

This was the first step in creating an awareness in the school community of the scourge of bullying, and the devastating effect that bullying can have on children, and on adults.

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behaviour among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behaviour is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumours, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.

There are many roles that children can play. Children can bully others, they can be bullied, or they may witness bullying. When children are involved in bullying, they often play more than one role. It is important to understand the multiple roles children play in order to effectively prevent and respond to bullying.

Through creative role play and group work, the learners were led through various scenarios which provided insight into why bullying occurs and they were provided with strategies to combat bullying, and how to support victims and bullies themselves.

More workshops have been scheduled to roll this campaign out to the rest of the school in order to create an even safer and happier environment for all of our learners. The school management, who attended the workshop, are committed to facing this challenge head-on to ensure that bullying in all its guises is not welcome at UHS.

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