On Monday, three of our long standing anti-bullying ambassadors joined the Senior Leadership Team in the Executive Principal’s office to share some of the great work they have done in the past and some of their hopes for this year.

Year 9 students Alayna, Angel and Megan have been anti-bullying ambassadors since they joined BMS in Year 7 and feel totally committed to the cause and their roles. Passionately led by Ms Mateides, the anti-bullying ambassadors engage in a variety of activities. The year starts with visits to every CDC group and everyone signing an anti-bullying pledge. This reminds everyone of the very clear culture and ethos of our school where we want every member of our community to live by the mantra ‘Mind to be Kind’.

Other activities include fund raising events such as the cookie sale, when the anti-bullying ambassadors try to educate others about cookies online and the pitfalls of social media. External guests have been invited to come and speak to the students about anti-bullying and share their wisdom and knowledge. Thankfully, bullying is not a big problem at Bushey Meads, but it is always good to be reminded how we should behave with each other and know where we can turn should we feel upset by something someone has said or done. The anti-bullying ambassadors can always be found in ‘Our Space’ which takes place every lunchtime in LRC4.

So have you ever thought about what characteristics an anti-bullying ambassador has? An anti-bullying ambassador is someone:

• Who is enthusiastic about stopping bullying by promoting kindness
• Who cares about others and keeps an eye out for their peers, classmates and friends
• Who is friendly, approachable, willing to listen to others problems and provide support to them
• Who actively works to show people that bullying is uncool
• Is a positive role model

But even if you are not an official anti-bullying ambassador, you can certainly demonstrate these characteristics every day in and out of school.

Well done Alayna, Angel and Megan for all the good work you do and we wish you and the rest of the anti-bullying team every success in your endeavours this year.