[Newsbot]

Title: Class writes letters to bullied teen
Category: Misc CDN
Posted By: Hyack
Date: 2009-03-05 21:49:14
Canadian

[Heavy_Metal]

oooookkkkaaayyyy......now where's the story about these kids getting charged with mischief???

[Lavics]

If I`d do this to any guy on the streets, would`nt I be charged with assault?? Canadian law at its finest.

[martin14]

Would have been nice to see these kids sticking up before things got so bad.
but I guess thats asking too much.

[crystalsm]

$1:

Her 21 Grade 9 students learned of Hyde's plight while studying newspapers in class.

They're from a different school.

[martin14]

crystalsm crystalsm:

$1:

Her 21 Grade 9 students learned of Hyde's plight while studying newspapers in class.

They're from a different school.

ahhh, ok, sorry, missed that

[danimal]

It's unfortunate that sometimes it takes things getting really bad for any kind of action to be taken.

[tritium]

I sent a letter to the school board to ask if anything would be done about the principal of the school, who on countless times turned a blind eye on the harrasement.

This was their reply.

$1:

March 3, 2009

Thank you for taking the time to write and express your concerns about West Credit Secondary School student Lindsay Hyde. As a Board, we understand and share the public's concerns over bullying. We believe that no one deserves to be bullied and bullying is not acceptable.

I am sure you realize that media stories, such as those recently published by the Toronto Sun, can sometimes tell only part of the story. Although we realize that people may want to know exactly what the Board and school administration has done to deal with this situation, we will not be responding point-by-point to what has been reported in the media. Lindsay and her mother are free to speak to the media, but we are still legally bound to protect Lindsay, as a student of our School Board and to keep her personal and academic information private.

What I can tell you is that the situation is not as one-sided as has been portrayed by the media. Numerous staff at West Credit Secondary School have provided extensive one-to-one support to Lindsay and her family over the time she has been at the school. The school has a very different chronology of events than the one presented in the media. I can assure you that the school acted immediately on the one occasion when there was an alleged physical attack against Lindsay.

The media stories have also focused on Lindsay's co-op placement. Lindsay, her mother and West Credit Secondary School staff reached that decision together last October and the placement was made for academic reasons. For students at West Credit Secondary School, co-op education is an integral part of their learning program. The placement was in no way a response to alleged bullying.

I can assure you that you can not find a more caring and dedicated group of educators than those at West Credit and the one-sided media stories have not done the school justice. Simply because the school chose not to reveal personal information about Lindsay in order to defend themselves does not make the criticisms true. I have to reiterate in the strongest terms that all of the staff who worked with Lindsay and her family did everything they could to help her. Lindsay continues to be a student of West Credit Secondary School and attends school there, and the West Credit staff are continuing to support and care for her.

Lindsay's situation is a very specific case and the information that has been made public in the media reports is not the complete story. However, we would not want anyone to be left with the impression that the Peel District School Board does not take the issue of bullying very seriously. As a Board, we have many policies and programs to deal with the issue. Please find attached an excerpt from the Peel Board's Safe Schools Policy #48, Section C, which provides information on how we deal with bullying prevention and intervention in Peel schools.

The complete Safe Schools Policy can be viewed on our web site at http://www.peelschools.org/departments/ ... icy_48.htm

West Credit Secondary School also has many proactive bullying prevention strategies, including the following:

1. proactive support for all incoming grade 9s identified by elementary school as 'at-risk'
2. support for any students experiencing behaviour difficulties, social challenges
3. anonymous School Hotline to report any concerns, including bullying
4. social workers available to counsel students and their families
5. whole school assembly "Respect Ourselves, Respect Others" facilitated by Peel Police
6. follow-up classroom activities to assembly
7. regular announcements regarding behaviour expectations and a specific attribute for the week
8. recognizing and celebrating individual student positive behaviour achievements at monthly Principal's Reception
9. post-suspension program for students returning from suspension

Though I have not addressed the media reports point-by-point, I hope I have conveyed the fact that there is more to the story. At West Credit Secondary School and the Peel District School Board, we care deeply about Lindsay's safety and welfare, as we care for all our students. We will not jeopardize her well-being by responding more specifically, but I can assure you that the actions of the school and the Board continue to be motivated and guided by our commitment to doing all we can to assure Lindsay's personal and academic success.

Thank you for your interest and concern,


Sincerely,



Jim Grieve

Director of Education


Jim Grieve
Director of Education
Peel District School Board
HJA Brown Education Centre
5650 Hurontario Street
Mississauga, ON L5R 1C6
905-890-1010 (ext. 2006)
jim.grieve@peelsb.com

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[Thanos]

Tsk, tsk, tsk. We shouldn't be so judgemental and interfere with someone's right of expression through vicious bullying. Isn't freedom the true victim when that happens?

[DerbyX]

Another strawman attack. Lets dissect his failure shall we.

Freedom as expressed by myself means the right to choose things for oneself that affect oneself. It doesn't imply I want the freedom to do whatever I want to other people. Thats actually oppression and what he is arguing the government should be allowed to do.

The freedom to bully another person? Nope. Now she can think whatever she wants about the girl but to hurt her, to bully her like that? Thats not freedom of expression.

Its amazing how totalitarian zealots fail to understand that freedom of choice doesn't imply everybody can do anything. Freedom of choice implies the right to choose with respect to ones one self.