Bullying Policy

All bullying is unacceptable. Deliberate unkindness of any action that gives hurt, whether verbal, physical, or relational, is bullying and will not be tolerated. It is the duty of everyone who sees an instance of bullying, or potential bullying, to act to stop it. This duty applies to all students, teachers, and other members of staff. Parents who have concerns about bullying issues should contact their child’s homeroom teacher about their concerns.

The three main types of bullying are:

• Physical, included but not limited to violence, theft, and destruction of property.
• Verbal, included but not limited to name calling, making faces, telling secrets, teasing and mocking.
• Relational, included but not limited to cyber bullying, spreading rumors, making gestures, writing notes, excluding someone from social groups, malicious email and prank phone calls.

Proper bullying report/response procedures by all teachers, staff, and students:

• Bullying incidents must be reported immediately to staff.
• Once reported, the staff member in closest proximity to the event will record reported bullying and give the report to the homeroom teacher.
• The bullying behavior or threats will be investigated either by the initial staff member or by the homeroom teacher quickly and fully, with both victim and perpetrator informed that the behavior will/must stop immediately.
• If the homeroom teacher deems it appropriate, the bullying perpetrator will meet with the principal and his parents to discuss the seriousness of his actions and to establish appropriate means of changing behavior.

Further options and outcomes:

• In serious cases, suspension, expulsion or criminal charges will be considered.
• If feasible, both victim and bully will meet with the administration to discuss the problem and brainstorm ideas for reconciliation.
• After the incident has been thoroughly investigated and dealt with, faculty will monitor both students (including regular “check-ins”) to ensure that bullying does not resume or reoccur.

Holy Family Academy teachers will:

• Teach self-respect and promote a sense of self-worth.
• Model assertive behavior and good social skills.
• Teach children ways to respond to bullies.
• Encourage children to stand up for a child being bullied and stress the importance of reporting bullying to a trusted adult.
• Teach the following responses to bullying:
  
  • to avoid, ignore or walk away from a bully.
  • to stay calm and not fight back.
  • to forcefully say to the bully, “Leave me alone.”
  • to realize that the problem is mostly that of the bully, not the victim.