Bullying Takes Center Stage at Loring-Flemming
Fourth-grade students at the Little Gloucester Road elementary school tackle the subject of bullying with a musical production.
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Bullying has taken center stage in New Jersey's schools.
The state has mandated staff training and procedures to root out bullies.
There are now zero-tolerance, anti-bullying policies in place in every school district.
Name-calling is no longer an offense that draws just a quick reprimand from a teacher or cafeteria aide or bus driver, but a full-blown investigation—even at the youngest grade levels.
Bullying literally took center stage at Loring-Flemming Elementary School on Thursday.
More than 120 of the Little Gloucester Road school's fourth-grade students put on a musical production under the direction of Erica Guillama, with students performing such songs as Aretha Franklin's "Respect," Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive."
While district-down procedures to punish bullies are key components to curbing bullying, teaching kids to feel good about themselves and respect others' feelings is equally important.
The students donned T-shirts for the concert with the one word on it their classmates had used to describe them that made them feel best.
"I know that they definitely feel really great about themselves at this point," Guillama said Friday of her students following Thursday's concerts.
Concerts were held three times Thursday, with two performances during the school day and one at night.
Now in her ninth year as Loring-Flemming's music teacher, Guillama says the critically acclaimed documentary film Bully and a 48 Hours special on bullying played a role in her decision to adopt the anti-bullying theme for this year's fourth-grade concert.
"In the Bully movie there were kids that were 11 years old that had committed suicide because of bullying," she said. "A lot of people think bullying is a middle-school or a high-school problem, but to hear about 11-year-old kids—you know, I have fifth-graders who are 11—it just broke my heart. Between the two of those productions, it just really made me start thinking about my students."
Guillama received fun and educational support materials from a number of anti-bullying groups, including No H8, she had informed about Loring-Flemming's concert theme.
She also learned this week that Teaching Tolerance—a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center—plans to feature the Loring-Flemming production in its magazine.
Patricia Grieco
9:12 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
The show was amazing and emotional - Im so proud of my daughter and Loring Flemming ! :)
Laura Smalley
11:09 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Thank you for helping put an end to bullying and realizing bullying and youth suicide is a problem it's going to take all of us to stop.
Mother of Ty Field-Smalley
Barbara Beal
3:33 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
Bully prevention was one of my passions when I taught at Lewis Middle School. It is so important to empower students to stand up for themselves and others. Great to see! Thanks for all you and the rest of GT's amazing staff do for our kids. Barbara Beal. Retired CWL teacher
mr
3:36 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
A teacher doing good for our children and our community!
Erica Guillama
10:10 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013
Sean - what a wonderful article! Thank you all for your kind comments! I am so incredibly proud of the wonderful work my students did, both on stage and in class. Hopefully they will continue to be model citizens and make a difference both in our school and the community.
BETH RYALES
3:19 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
Miss Guillama, The show was Awsome....You did a great job!! So proud of all the kids. Victoria Ryales Mom, Beth
Erica Guillama
6:52 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Thanks Ms. Ryales! I am so proud of Victoria and all of her classmates!
Angie Jones
2:56 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
This looks like it was a really nice presentation. Wish I would have seen it.
Team Dawg
6:34 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
As children's book writers and character education workshop presenters we at Team Dawg applaud efforts such as this to raise awareness and to resolve this issue. As stated in the article.....punishment is not the only part of this equation. We must change the culture that our children currently live within by stressing the importance of RESPECT for themselves and others and by maintaining an open line of communication between children and adults. Our books and workshops promote exactly that. Congratulations to these talented students! Keep up the good work!
Chip Pildis
9:16 pm on Monday, January 14, 2013
Wow! What a wonderful performance! The children showed such a passion for signing! The message is clear; the fourth grade students at Loring Flemming have great character! Thanks for a wonderful evening.
Mary Curran
12:07 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013
I wish we could all see this. Was there a video that you could post??? My daughter is 12 yrs old and goes to a private school. She has been bullied since first grade. The same girls doing the bullying. Aleays putting her down,telling her she would never be taller,etc. Well let me tell you something right now..I would like to thank these heartless kids with no parental guidance. Why?? because my daughter is in 7th grade (same school) and she is a beautiful soul often told she has an old soul. Well anyway yesterday was a big day for her b/c she came home with her shoulders back and said "Mamma I confronted ALL OF THEM in the schoolyard. and asked them all how much they thought I could take of their bullcrap." Needless to say the bullies were speechless...LOL for once. She told hem all "Thank you very much for teaching Me to be strong and compassionate to others." then she walked away and smiled and Her Real Friends went with her... I cannot tell you how proud I am of her.
Erica Guillama
6:57 am on Tuesday, January 29, 2013
I can only imagine how proud you are of your daughter. I hope this is a positive turning point for her. I am unable to post any videos due to probable copyright violations (all of the songs sung were published choral arrangements). Sorry :-(!