We did our first assembly this past week.  We had 350 kids in attendance. WOW-their energy is amazing.  They were open to the information and aware that bulllying occurs in their school.  The audience was so open to what our group was presenting.  The SAINT kids were amazingand really stepped up to the plate,  They handled themselves well, presented the information, and were aware of the audience and how they were responding.  Lots of lessons learned and to be put into action.  The dogs were well recieved and got a lot of positve attention.  At times, it seemed llike too much attention and we-the SAINTS had to be aware of how the dogs were responding to all of the attention.  these kids were outstanding in how they knew how to protect the dogs and still be caring of the audience.  The audience kids are aware of bullying in their school and were open to what was being presented to them.  We ne

Our first program is this wednesday.  The kids are mostly ready.  Shirts are done, material is ready and we just have to do it.  This has been very rewarding in a lot of ways.  The kids really respond, there is a "hands on" view of bullying, and the desire to do well and right in kids is so clear.  One of the best things about these programs is that we "instructors" learn as much as the students.  It seems so clear that if we all make a committment to end bullying, it can be done, and it must be done.  More later after the assembly.  Have a great day.

We are finishing up the pilot program for the SAINTS-student ambassadors in the schools. We will have our assembly for the school next Friday-June 4th.  This has been a great experience and the most important lesson has been that we absolutely must give replacement behaviors to the bullies, the on-lookers, and the bullied.  So...we are working on kindness.  Kindness and kind behaviors have become a strong component of this program.  Encouraging, acknowledging, and reinforcing acts of kindness goes a long way to eradicate bullying.  I know that many will say that the bully will take kindness as a sign of weakness and attempt to further exploit a victim.  That may be true in some situations, however I really believe that if we presereve in being kind, that we can make an impact.  This means that we need to actively work at being kind and we have to actively acknowledge any and all acts of kindness that we see.

Lots is happening. We are doing the middle schools and it is amazing. We get bullying right in the program. One site has some girls who really do not like each other. They are MEAN, MEAN, MEAN to each other. That said, they both consistently come to the program. I am challenging them to find at least one thing they like or admire about each other-WOW, lots of resistance at first-to their credit, they did it. They still don't seem to like each other much, however, they are not as mean. I hear events of bullying all the time in the group. The kids are so open and so honest.

We have done the second installment of the elementary program. This is a 12 week pilot to create Bully-nomore ambassadors. In the second session,we worked on identifying and expressing feelings. We used the FEELINGS card game. The kids seemed to really enjoy it. They are open to understanding that feelings can be expressed in a variety of ways and that sometimes, we may misunderstand what someone is feeling. Kids use the cards to identiy feelings and share something about what may be happening in a situation. Kids worked at expressing feelings and letting others guess what they were expressing. Lots of fun!!! They also shared the cards with the dog and asked them what they thought was being felt. Sometimes, the dog would "help" by whispering a hint into my ear and I could "share" that with the kids.

We started our 12 week pilot "Bully No More Ambassadors" program at an inner city elementary school yesterday. We had 15 kids from several grades. WOW!!! What a challenge and what a wonderful group. Having the staff of the school support this is so wonderful and makes the job so smooth. We are doing four parts-what is bullying? why is bullying harmful? How do I protect myself from being bullied? and how we can prevent bullying.

We are now in the third month of the "Paws Against Bullying" in the La Mesa/Spring Valley middle schools.  We are working with four schools, each school is visited one time a month.  The curriculum for this program is set to develop awareness of bullying, understanding of how to recognize bullying, how to get protection when bullying occurs, and how to prevent bullying. 

The program has been overwhelming to me.  The kids are open, aware of bullying, and welcoming of techniques to deal with, stop, and prevent bullying.  Of course, having Romeo-the standard red poodle-as part of the program-has only added to the impact.  He seems to make the setting more comfortable, open, and accessible to input and feelings from the kids.  Even kids who have been afraid of dogs are open to him.  He is loving and accepting and the kids enjoy having him part of the program.