 Almost all of our kids will be bullied, or be a witness to bullying, to some degree in their schooling years. The studies vary on how often, how many kids, and who gets bullied, but the fact is that too many kids are victims of this phenomenon. The consequences of bullying can be disastrous. It can lead to physical injury, social and emotional scarring, lower academic achievements, self-harm, mental health struggles, and even death. Kids who bully others and are bullied themselves are at the greatest risk for mental health and behavioral problems. What is bullying? According to Psychology Today, bullying is a distinctive pattern of repeatedly and deliberately harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are smaller, weaker, younger or in any way more vulnerable than the bully. The deliberate targeting of those of lesser power is what distinguishes bullying from garden-variety aggression.
  Who Gets Bullied and What to Look For The statistics are all over the place with bullying. Some things we do know are that a higher percentage of males than females report being physically bullied, whereas a higher percentage of girls report being the subjects of rumors and exclusion. As far as cyberbullying, it is reported the most among middle schoolers. Those that are cyberbullied are likely to be bullied offline as well. Students with specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, emotional and behavior disorders, and speech or language impairments are more often victims of bullying than their peers without disabilities. Also, students of color, and those who identify or are perceived as LGBTQ are at a higher risk. Not all kids who are bullied ask for help. It is estimated that less than half of bullied students notify an adult at school. There are some signs to look for but understand that not all kids show signs. Another thing to note is that simply observing bullying can lead to a negative impact on mental health. When school-age kids are victims of bullying, they are much more likely to have headaches and stomachaches, depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems. They might even experience sleep issues and nightmares, dropping grades, and may even drop out of school. They may come home from school with unexplained injuries, destroyed or lost personal belongings, and may also start showing discipline problems, as well as becoming increasingly more aggressive. Not surprisingly, there is also a strong association between bullying and suicide-related behaviors.  Who Bullies and What to Look For Children who feel secure and supported at home, school, and among their peers are less likely to bully. There are several factors that may contribute to youth that bully, but every individual is unique. Those who bully chronically tend to have strained relationships with parents and peers, and may also have school factors and emotional factors to consider. Due to these struggles, bullying can be a way of establishing social dominance. This can lead to a downward spiral if not addressed properly. Some of these behaviors may actually be cries for help. Research shows that long-term bullies lack prosocial behavior, are not troubled by anxiety, do not understand others’ feelings, and often do not accept responsibility for their actions. They often misread the intentions of others and tend to have a kind of paranoia. As with kids who get bullied, kids who are the bullies have a higher risk of suicide-related behaviors. What Can Be Done The good news is that bullying is a behavior that can be changed. Those that bully or are bullied can benefit from support from school, the community, and trusted adults. These adults can teach new social and emotional skills, as well as healthy peer connections. At the onset, the best defense against bullying is teaching kids social skills and helping them develop confidence in their own abilities. The second-best defense against bullying is to walk away and not fight back. As parents, we can regularly inquire about challenges our kids are having, and maybe even role-play some solutions. It's also beneficial to understand safety while using technology. Cyberbullying is a real thing. It's important to teach kids to use social media responsibly, respectfully, and safely and to keep their passwords private. If you are the victim or a witness in cyberbullying, don’t engage in any conversation online where bullying is occurring. Bullying should never be ignored. For issues that are severe, persistent, or unresolved, the individual(s) who has(have) been the target of bullying or who has observed bullying should report the incident in writing or verbally to a staff member at that school. Northshore School District is committed to a safe environment for its students where everyone is treated with respect, and no one is physically or emotionally harmed. NSD makes it easy to report tips on bullying, harassment, or any safety issue through SafeSchools Alert. Reporting can be done online, through an app, or by calling, texting, or emailing. NSD's SafeSchools Alert can be used by students, families, or staff to report the incident and can also be done anonymously.
This article was brought to you by Northshore Council's Mental Health Committee. Visit our Mental Health Awareness Resources page to learn more about this committee and the other resources they have provided.
Council Business:
Bond & Levies Support/Opposition Vote: Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot. During this meeting, both the pro and con positions on the issue were presented before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies. Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously. Learn more... District Updates:
Council Committee Reports:
We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on March 21st, 2022 @ 7pm. For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar. Calling All PTA Advocates for Mental Health Awareness  Council's Mental Health Committee has been noticing inconsistencies with the accessibility to a school's mental health resources. We are asking our local leaders to take a few minutes to check out the website for their school to determine the following:
After checking out your school's website, if you find these things hard to locate or not available, we encourage you to advocate with your school office staff and principal to get these things included. If your school is already doing a great job at making mental health information accessible, we would love to know! Please email the link to your school's website so we can share it as a resource with other PTA leaders and schools looking to improve their mental health accessibility and awareness.  Last night at the January 20th General Membership Meeting Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot. During this meeting we presented both the pro and con positions on the issue before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies. Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously. Resources to Learn More about the Bond & Levies, including the Pro and Con Positions General Bond & Levies Info: https://www.nsd.org/our-district/overview/bond-levies Pro Position Info: https://citizensfornorthshoreschools.org/ Con Position Info: https://www.nsdstudentsfirst.com/home Voter Information & Resources February 8th, 2022 Special Election Dates & Voter Registration Information January 21st - Ballots are mailed out and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers. January 31st - Last day for voters to register or update voter information online February 8th - Last day for voters to register or update voter information in person by 8pm February 8th - *Special Election Day* Deposit your ballot in an official drop box by 8pm Additional Resources King County Ballot Information Snohomish County Ballot Information  Voter information and registration can be found at http://vote.wa.gov/.
 Please join us for our third general membership meeting of the year on Thursday, January 20, 2022 via Zoom! In addition to our regular business items, we’ll also be holding elections for our 2021-2022 Nominating Committee (See First Notice of Election post). Additionally, Council's Board of Directors would like to put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot. During this meeting we will present both the pro and con positions on the issue before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies.
Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives - but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
*A meeting passcode is required to join. It will be sent to local leaders via email. You can also request the passcode by emailing Council PTSA Communications VP, Rachel Fitzgerald.  Last month Council held their 2nd General Meeting of the 2021-2022 school year. We appreciate all the local leaders from across the district as well as community and school partners who took the time to attend! Continue reading for a recap of this meeting.
General Updates from President Jane Chiodo:
Council Business: The minutes from the September 2021 meeting were approved as written. Council's AIM insurance for the year was renewed and paid for in October. The mid year financial review committee was appointed while the election for the Nominating Committee was postponed until the next membership meeting. Guest Speakers:
Council Reports:
We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on January 20th, 2022 @ 7pm. For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar.  Each year, Northshore Council PTSA requests a list of district families that have opted in to receiving communications from the Northshore School District. Council is happy to share this information with the Local PTA’s that request it from us for the purposes of PTA/PTSA communications.
Requests should be made to our Council Secretaries - Cheri Hardin and Pauline Wray - and must come from the local PTA president only. Along with your directory list, we will send a copy of our 2021 Communications Guidelines for Student Directory regarding responsible use of this information. Please allow up to 1 week for your directory request to be processed.  Please join us for our second general membership meeting of the year on Monday, November 15, 2021 via Zoom! In addition to our regular business items, we’ll also be holding elections for our 2021-2022 Nominating Committee (See First Notice of Election post). *UPDATED* Additionally, we will have THREE (3) special guest speakers during this meeting:
Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives - but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
*A meeting passcode is required to join. It will be sent to local leaders via email. You can also request the passcode by emailing Council PTSA Communications VP, Rachel Fitzgerald.  A big part of PTA is Advocacy. Getting information out to voters is one way Council supports this advocacy work. In the upcoming November 2nd Election, three (3) Northshore School District School Board seats are up for election. To increase access to candidates for voters, Council held an in-person forum on October 5th, 2021. A recording of this forum can be found below. Before watching the forum, please read this message from Council: With events of this type, there were bound to be unexpected challenges and technical issues. And, unfortunately, our forum did not escape the gremlins. Initially, the candidates struggled with the 1 minute time limit on answers and a decision was made to extend their time to answer from 60 seconds to 90 seconds. There were also challenges with recording and especially with sound throughout the event. And, to cap it off, the microphone malfunctioned 10 minutes from the end of our event. When the microphone quit, we made the decision to switch to another video format and allow the candidates to remove their masks for their closing statements to ensure a clearer delivery. Because of these issues, you will notice that our recording is not as smooth as we had hoped. There are a few cuts in recording where we had to edit out some of the more obnoxious technical issues - especially the microphone squeaks and feedback - and our attempts to fix them. Any portion of the video where the candidates were speaking has been kept intact and unaltered. Despite the best efforts of our volunteers, you may also notice a sync issue between the audio and visual at times and most notably around the 1 hour mark. Please be assured that all answers candidates gave can be heard in their entirety. We sincerely appreciate the patience of those who were in person with us and the grace the candidates showed. We especially applaud our team of volunteers for demonstrating the meaning of "PTA Flexible". The School Board Candidate Forum can be viewed by clicking the image below.  Click the image above to watch the recording of the School Board Candidate Forum from October 5th, 2021. Additional Resources for Voters
  Last week Council held their 1st General Meeting of the 2021-2022 school year. We appreciate all the local leaders from across the district as well as community and school partners who took the time to attend! Continue reading for a recap of this meeting.
General Updates from President Jane Chiodo:
Open Council Positions: Council is still looking for a VP of Events. If you know anyone who would be a good fit, please contact us! In October, Northshore Council will start to look for three people to be on the Nominating Committee. Tip for Local PTAs: Discuss the Nominating Committee at your next PTA/PTSA meeting in order to start the process early. Upcoming Trainings and Opportunities: Legislative Assembly will be virtual and is scheduled for October 23th and 24th. Training will be available beginning in October. Upcoming training courses are listed on Council's Training Opportunities page. Council Business: In our meeting we reviewed the Year End Financial Review, our Mission and Goals, and our Standing Rules. These updated documents can be viewed in the About Us section of our website. NSD School Board Update: Director Dave Cogan shared updates from the Northshore School Board updates.
Northshore Schools Foundation Update: Carmin Dalziel gave updates on the Northshore Schools Foundation and how they continue to work to give money to schools. She shared that classroom grants now have deadlines every other month. They also provide basic needs aid (crisis funds) now. Crisis funds are $200 per family that is sent to help buy gas, groceries and get people back on their feet. Each school has a staff care team lead available. Northshore Foundation are always looking for ambassadors at each school. The Bond and Levy committee will be available to come to general meetings, if needed. If you are at Kenmore School, the school foundation just received approval to do a cash disbursement for families in extreme need. Schools access these funds through the care team lead. The business and updates part of our meeting adjourned allowing for time for breakout rooms. We were thrilled that so many local leaders participated in these rooms in order to share ideas, ask questions, and support each other! We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on November 15th, 2021 @ 7pm. For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar. |
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