Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is the most researched and best-known bullying prevention program available today. With over thirty-five years of research and successful implementation all over the world, OBPP is a whole-school program that has been proven to prevent or reduce bullying throughout a school setting. OBPP is used at the school, classroom, and individual levels and includes methods to reach out to parents and the community for involvement and support. School administrators, teachers, and other staff are primarily responsible for introducing and implementing the program. These efforts are designed to improve peer relations and make the school a safer and more positive place for students to learn and develop.

The goals of the program are:

• To reduce existing bullying problems among students
• To prevent the development of new bullying problems
• To achieve better peer relations at school

Additionally, each School has a Bullying Prevention Committee (BPC). This committee is made up of school staff, admin, teachers, students, and parents. The BPC members have been trained in implementation and can serve as a resource. Mapleton also has a district Bullying Prevention Committee that can help. The members are listed at the bottom of this page.

Lear more about the Olweus program here. 

Gratitude 

4 Ways to Refuel Your Gratitude

 Check out these four tips for firing up your appreciation for this very moment.
By Rebecca Alber November 23, 2015

As a public school educator, there were so many things that could lure me into a daily habit of focusing on the far-from-positive realities of this work: broken copiers and desks, not enough novel sets in the book room that I desperately want to read with my students, and pretty much limited supplies of everything. Anyone who works in a public school knows what I'm talking about. There's a lot that needs fixing.

So how do we stay out of the negative minefield and focus on what works, on the miracles of it all?

#1. Laugh with Your Students

Our profession has become highly politicized these days which can be very troubling (public vs. charter, teacher bashing in the media, standards-based rhetoric overkill, etc.) It takes extra energy and effort to keep up boundaries from getting over-involved in sometimes sticky battles.

So I say, more than ever, humor is a crucial element that can keep us motivated, grateful, and positive.

There's the middle school science teacher who begins class with corny science jokes. ("Where do astronauts park their spaceships? At parking meteors!") There's the high school world history teacher who dresses up every single day in a period costume. And there's the third grade teacher who chuckles alongside her students when the opportunity arises. Make time and space in your classroom for humor. Create a comic strip corner or invite students to share funny stories and jokes that only take a minute or two of class time.

#2. Stick with the Motivators

You know these colleagues. Keep them close. These are the teachers who may gripe on occasion or do a twenty-second vent session but then quickly turn to a funny story about something a student told them or tell you about a great teaching strategy or inspiring TEDtalk they just watched. Perhaps this person is you? If so, keep spreading the hope and the positive, and take on the goal of motivating a colleague who you've observed in a rut.

#3. Seek New Inspiration

When was the last time you went and observed a colleague teaching? We can spend 15 minutes in someone else's classroom and pick up a new reading activity, method for grouping students, teacher move or saying, or even an idea for a whole unit plan. Don't underestimate the power of leaving the four walls of your classroom! How about visiting an elective class or a club? You can enter the room as observer, advisor for the day, or as a participant. Go check out the art class or the lunchtime computer club. Putting ourselves in the learner's seat can surprise us, serving to inspire in ways we didn't expect.

#4. Look for the Light

This noble profession is full of surprises. Be grateful for the grand and not so grand moments. Sometimes a smile from a shy student, or observing a child ardently pen a paragraph will awaken and warm your heart.

When I'm feeling a little lost and uncertain in this work, I'll take out the letters from over the years students have written to me and recall each of their faces as I read their kind words. Sometimes we have no idea the effects we are having on our students when we take those extra seconds to check in on them, or nudge them to trust their abilities on those low days, or when we just sit and listen. Those letters, notes, and cards remind me that when I pause and act from my heart, it matters.

If you're having trouble resourcing the gratitude from within, check out Gratitude Revealed, a site that offers short, inspiring videos with beautiful imagery, ethereal melodies, and motivating words that can fire up your appreciation for this very moment. 

 

Gratitude Activities for the Classroom

Looking for some ways to bring gratitude into the classroom this Thanksgiving season? Here are some ideas to get you started.
BY VICKI ZAKRZEWSKI | NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to help students cultivate an “attitude of gratitude.” And what’s more, research shows that it’s really good for both them and their teachers!

Among other benefits, gratitude helps kids feel better about school and makes educators feel less emotionally exhausted.

Need some ideas on how to bring gratitude into the classroom? Here are some easy-to-implement activities, many of which can be adapted to fit any grade level.
Contact Karen Hoppis or Jacque Ewing for journals or other supplies.

• Classroom Gratitude Book. Create a gratitude book to send home with a different child each week. Ask each student’s family to add a page of pictures and descriptions of what they’re grateful for. At the end of the year, be sure to celebrate your completed classroom gratitude book!

• Gratitude Photos. Have each student write what they are thankful for on a large piece of paper and then take a picture of the child holding up their paper. Frame the photo and send it home as a holiday gift.

• Gratitude Collage or Bulletin Board. Have children cut out pictures of things they’re grateful for and then use the pictures to create their own collage or to decorate a classroom gratitude bulletin board.

• Gratitude Paper Chain. Have children write what they’re thankful for on strips of paper and use the strips to make a gratitude chain to hang up in the classroom.

• Gratitude Pairs. Hold a “Special Friends Day” one or two days before Thanksgiving. Ask each student to invite a special person to class for a 45-minute period, such as a grandparent, nanny, neighbor, parent from another classroom, or family friend. Have each pair write and/or draw something they’re thankful for and post it on a bulletin board. Note: Scheduling this activity close to the holiday increases the likelihood of out-of-towners being able to attend.

• Gratitude Spies. Play the “Spying for Gratitude” game. At the beginning of the day, have each child choose the name of another student out of a hat without revealing the name. Each student spends the day “spying” on their chosen person and then shares one thing that they are grateful for about that person during an end-of-the-day circle.

• Gratitude Quilt. Give each child a 5”x5” blank piece of paper on which to draw something they are thankful for. Mount each square on a 6”x6” colored piece of paper and then piece the squares together to create a classroom gratitude quilt.

• Gratitude Graph. Have each child write one thing that they are grateful for on a sticky note and then plot it on a classroom gratitude graph. Categories might include people, things, places, actions, animals, etc.

• Gratitude Circle. Begin or end the day sitting in a circle with each person sharing one thing that they are grateful for and why. Note: Younger students will need a lot of modeling to explain why they’re grateful for something.

• Gratitude Journals. Have each student create a gratitude journal or decorate the cover of a pre-made one. Once a week, have students write three things they’re grateful for and why. Be sure to limit this activity to once a week, otherwise, according to research, the activity loses its impact.

• Gratitude Surprise Sticky Notes. Give each student one or more sticky notes to write something they’re grateful for about another person in the school community. Then have the students “deliver” the sticky notes by placing them where the person will see it, e.g., a locker, a phone, a cleaning cart.

• Gratitude Letters for the Community. Write letters of gratitude and deliver them to people in the greater school community, e.g., janitor, food staff, school administration. Expand this exercise to include the local community, such as police, fire station, bank, grocery store, hospital, electricians, etc.

• Gratitude Quotes. Give students their own gratitude quote (here’s a great list of quotes) and have them reflect upon and write about what their quote means to them.

• Gratitude Discussions. Use gratitude researchers Jeffrey Froh and Giacomo Bono’s gratitude curriculum to deepen students’ understanding of gratitude. Have students think of something they’re grateful for and then re-frame it as a gift. Then ask students to 1) notice that someone saw they had a need and acted upon it; 2) appreciate the cost incurred by the person extending the gift; and 3) recognize the personal value of the gift they received.

• Gratitude Research and Action. Share and discuss with your students the research that shows the tremendous benefits of practicing gratitude. Here’s a list of findings from the Greater Good gratitude webpage. Ask students to come up with ways they might incorporate more gratitude into their lives. After hearing about the research on gratitude from their teacher, one group of 8th graders from a high-needs school took it upon themselves to form “The Breakfast Club”—a secret club dedicated to performing kind acts for the school staff. After several months of clandestinely delivering Starbucks coffees (donated by Starbucks), pizzas, and other fun treats, the Breakfast Club members revealed their identities at a school assembly—and were hailed with loud roars and cheers!

Grade Level Resources 

K-2

Olweus Class Meetings:
Positively Us!
Being Brave Every Day
Our Kindness Circle

3rd-5th

Olweus Class Meetings:
Circles of Caring: connect to gratitude by asking students what they appreciate about people in their circles.
If These Halls Could Talk: Positive interactions at school can connect to gratitude.
Family Heritage Journeys

6th-8th

Olweus Class Meetings:
Whom Do You Trust?-Show gratitude by writing a note to a trusted adult
Consider using the 3rd-5th or 9th-12th resource