By Ms. Sun Siwen ( Mandarin MYP Teacher) and Mr. Steinberg (Grade 7 Homeroom Teacher and English Teacher).

One third of the globe’s youth is bullied today. Those that are bullied experience depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and lower academic achievements. In an attempt to curtail this record, the MYP students of CISS undertook tasks that made them not only understand bullying, but also the effects of it.

In English, the grade 6s, being engaged in a unit revolving around character development, explored how the victims of bullying change for the worse. They created posters showing who the individuals were before the bullying took place, and what they became because of it. With their heart wrenching images and pay-off lines, all understand at just a glance why bullying is such an abhorrent action to be a part of. 

The grade 7s, exploring the ideas of security and freedom, provided emotionally provoking posters that portray what a school looks like without security and freedom – under the threat of bullying, and what a school – like CISS – looks like with security and freedom and no bullying. From the posters, it is evident that without bullying, learners can experience friendship, learning, and a community that sticks together.

The grade 8s, investigating strategies and infrastructures, developed posters that have one goal – to stop bullying. In order to eliminate bullying in schools, the learners provided detailed infrastructures of how schools can combat bullying, and bring it to an expedited end! Their ideas were not only practical, but also insightful.

The grade 9s, dealing with human development, explored how not the victim, but rather, the bully develops due to their inappropriate behaviour. The posters availed that evil begets evil, and that by bullying, the bully never leaves the experience unscathed – that he/she will too suffer in life because of their heinous actions.

The grade 10s, dealing with war-torn settings, and how they may be used to provide a purposeful communication, compared war to bullying. Through the images used and hard-hitting lines, the posters portrayed the complete destruction and devastation bullying causes.

In Chinese, grades 6 to 10 were asked if they were ever mean or bullied someone, and were asked to write a creatively constructed and heart-felt letter to the person they felt they had wronged. The students then personally delivered the letters to the intended, and apologized for what they had done, and pledged to be better in the future.

Through these activities, learners at CISS had the opportunity to understand bullying and its effects in diverse ways. Furthermore, they had a chance to reflect on their actions, and make amends with those they affected. With these ideas and actions in the foreground of CISS’s walls and the learners’ minds, CISS stands bully free!