Anonymous Hotlines

You want students to report bullying, but not everyone feels comfortable talking to someone in person. Being able to call without having to say who you are might help students to speak up.

Hotlines are a great tool for someone feeling vulnerable to get help quickly. Most schools have anonymous reporting lines that could be helpful in the focus of your group. If your school does not have an anonymous reporting line, you can find out how to do it for free using Google Voice.

Bullying and Student Support Hotlines

Safe2Say
(844) 723-2729

Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools Bullying Prevention Consult Line
(866) 716-0424

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
(800) 273-8255

Crisis Text Line
Text CONNECT to 741741

Contests

The goal of a student contest is to raise awareness regarding the importance of bullying prevention in your school through visual means.

Contests could include a variety of art forms such as posters, videos, hashtags, skits, poems, sculptures, banners, logos, emoji-related art, etc.

Hosting a contest is a great way to draw attention to your cause and get support from a larger group of students, school and community.

• Provides a fun competition for students to participate in;
• To decorate your school and provide consistent messages to the student body;
• To visualize your voice and what is most important to you;
• To connect with community organizations and include them in your campaign for support;
• Provide artwork to businesses in your community to display in support of the school’s efforts and, ideally, obtain funding from them to support your ideas and programming.
• Provide an awards ceremony to include school staff, parents and community members. This would be a good time to highlight your creative projects and successes.

Judging Contests

The judging process for contests should be very clearly outlined before a contest is sent out to students. When judging a contest, only score based on the requirements given on the contest announcement. Judges should be a mix of adults and students participating in the movement, and several other non-biased adults/students. Work with your advisor to complete this portion.

Sample Judging Rubric

Flash Mob / Lip Dub

A flash mob is a creative, exciting way to get attention for your cause.

Step 1: Be Creative

There needs to be more to your flash mob than just a dance routine to make it stand out. Think of ways to make a unique statement about bullying prevention. Ideas to include are a moment of silence, freeze frame (with bullying statistics, songs that focus on bullying behavior, sing-along, etc.)

Step 2: Pick a Tune that connects to your cause

Pick a song that will catch everyone’s attention. Choose a song that conveys support, bystander intervention, being kind, etc.

Step 3: Practice, Be Prepared

Gather a group of students, teachers, staff and parents who are willing to participate. Find someone who is an experienced dancer or choreographer who can breakdown the moves for everyone. Choose moves that are easy to learn and accommodate all abilities. Provide multiple opportunities and practice over a variety of easy-to-use mediums (YouTube, Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime, virtual meeting space, etc.) Having everyone working together is part of what makes the process effective and will impress onlookers. Also, figure out your audio-visual needs. Can you plug your phone into the room’s overhead speakers to play your song(s)? Do you need to bring and set up speakers that are powerful enough to fill the room?

Step 4: Choose a Date, Time and Location

The best places for flash mobs are large, high-traffic public spaces where lots of people gather. Whether you choose to target a local park, a food court at the mall, fair, carnival or sporting event, pick a day and time of the week during the location’s busiest hours.

Being Safe: Contact the facility management to gain permission and/or support.

Step 5: The Element of Surprise

While we want many participants, we also want to keep our event a secret from the general public. A well-executed flash mob performance should be kept secret up until the moment it begins. Catching your audience off guard is crucial.

Step 6: Be a Cinematographer

Designate plenty of volunteers to record the performance. You could enlist the help of the audio-visual department from your school. Providing multiple angles and audience reaction will provide a quality recording in the end.

Step 7: Share your product

The goal of a flash mob is to bring awareness to the need for and importance of bullying prevention. Sharing your product beyond that day is a way to continue that work. Utilize social media, school website, etc. to spread your video and help it go viral!

For some very creative examples: Cyberbullying Research Center

Peer-to-Peer Support

Card Shower / Envelopes of Kindness
Sends cards/envelopes to students who are in need of support.

Support Groups
Develop support for a specific group of students within the school.

Mix-It-Up Lunch
Make sure everyone has a table to sit with accepting peers.

Buddy Bench
Assign a different student daily to sit on the bench and support those who need a buddy.

Listening Ears / Helping Hands
Peers reach out to students who have indicated that they need support. This is confidential support for non-crisis related issues and is a safe way to make contact with someone willing to listen and help. If you think someone needs adult or helpline support, get to an adult immediately.

Secret Agents of Kindness

Purposeful Pairings
Intentionally pair an older student with a new younger student. The younger student learns the “ropes” about behavioral expectations and rules and norms at the school from the older, wiser student, and also has a friend and advocate for if/when they are bullied/cyberbullied. The older student grows in their leadership skills because they are learning by mentoring the younger kid during that younger kid’s first year in the new building.

Character Word of the Month
Role model what the word means.

Welcome Bags / Peer Mentor for New Students
Bags can include:

• A draw-string bag or container with school logo.
• Welcome letter.
• List of clubs.
• Contact of a peer mentor.
• Map of the school.
• School lanyard.
• Water bottle with the school logo.
• Invitation to join BP peer group.
• Other swag with school logo.

Pep Rally

A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college-age, before an event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and support.

You can solicit support from staff and students to participate in a skit, role-play, song, cheer, flash mob, etc. at a rally. There are endless creative possibilities.

Need some ideas? Google “pep rally” and you will find many examples.

School Website / Announcements

A creative way to keep your movement top of mind is to request permission to post on the school website, have your own tab on the site and/or provide regular messages on daily/weekly announcements through the school PA system.

Messages could include inspirational quotes, stories, kudos, highlight positive changes in the school, highlight any community or media coverage, announce upcoming events, etc.

Social Media

Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

Social media can be a positive tool to gather support and maintain communication for your campaign. Social media can be used:

• To send out positive messaging about your campaign and other positive topics to students and staff.
• Group chat rooms would be helpful in making sure students feel comfortable making connections with other students they feel comfortable talking to and are safe.
• Anonymous compliments page.
• Develop an app.
• Humans of [school name] page.

Smart Social Networking: Fifteen Tips for Teens

Other Activities

Schoolwide Projects