Greetings Pirate Families,

I cannot believe that we have coasted right into March already! As you know, our last Pirate Post centered around the topic of “treat others as you would like to be treated.”

The Golden Rule principle has been the basis of some conversations that have recently surfaced with children during conflict resolution and peer mediations. We discuss incidents that have taken place between students and identify the feelings that transpire when others are unkind. Rough play, fighting, conflict, joking, and teasing all fall into the unkind behaviors that we have seen between peers. These behaviors put friends into uncomfortable, and potentially unsafe, circumstances that we want to avoid. Our goal is to teach why these behaviors are considered improper behaviors and have students identify when these things are happening to themselves or others. We also teach when these incidents become bullying. Bullying behavior is unkind, but not all unkind behaviors are bullying. It is important to recognize the difference and understand the difference as adults.

The St. Johns County Student Code of Conduct defines bullying as ‐unwanted and repeated written, verbal, or physical behavior, or use of digital technologies that include any threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture, by an adult or student, that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment; causes discomfort or humiliation; creates an existence of an imbalance of power; or unreasonably interferes with the individual’s school performance or participation. These actions are also targeted and/or intentional. Bullying is repeated, intentional, and an imbalance of power is present.

As a school, student safety is our number one priority. If you feel that your child has been bullied, report it to administration. The fastest way to report it is to call the front office or to email administration. Students can also report bullying at school by talking to an adult, or filling out a form for reporting and turning it in.

Since bullying is a severe infraction, and can forever impact all students involved, we caution overusing or casually stating the term. If unkind behavior is taking place, it is important to us to carefully investigate each incident to be sure bullying is not occurring, and to stop bullying before behaviors develop further. If you are unsure if the behaviors you are seeing are considered bullying, please reach out so we can help. Our number one priority is to create a safe and secure learning environment for our pirates. We value each student as an individual and will continuously partner with you in order to ensure a positive atmosphere for learning.

Together in Education,

First Mate Holtz