EMSB launches new anti-bullying campaign

WATCH ABOVE: Kindness: it’s a seemingly simple concept. But it’s one that can be easily forgotten. Now, as part of their anti-bullying campaign, the EMSB wants to remind its students of how easy it is to just be considerate. Global’s Rachel Lau reports.

MONTREAL — Being kind seems to come naturally to the children at Parkdale Elementary School in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent. Even some of the school’s youngest students say they already know the definition of kindness.

“Saying nice words to others,” said one kindergartener.

“And when somebody’s talking, you gotta listen,” added her friend.

READ MORE: Quebec looking to expand fight against bullying

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is introducing KINDERgarten, a new anti-bullying campaign aimed to inspire all students, with a special focus on the tiny tots.

“We need to address it before it happens,” said Angela Mancini, EMSB chairperson.

“If we start in kindergarten, we have a very good chance of preventing it from ever occuring.”

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The program simply asks children to be nicer to one another.

“When the children get along and they learn to celebrate the differences of each other, the uniqueness of one another, we get along much better,” explained Jackie Dare, a Parkdale Elementary kindergarten teacher.

The issue of bullying is a serious one, and it’s one that is close to the hearts of everyone who filled the school’s auditorium to share their stories.

“It’s how you solve the conflict,” said Marylène Perron, Parkdale Elementary principal.

“That means, if you solve it in a negative way, you will have bullying, but there are so many options of solving your conflicts through positive techniques.”

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The school’s Grade 6 students say it’s their responsibility to set the example.

READ MORE: An ‘epidemic’ of self-harm: Why are more Canadian youth hurting themselves?

“Me and my friends, we’re friends with a kid that was getting bullied,” said Keshawn Folkes, a sixth grader.

“We told him to stop and everything, and after, they stopped.”

This is something Mancini says should start at home.

“Parents’ implication in schools is extremely important,” said Mancini.

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“It’s probably one of the key factors in terms of school success for students.”

Parkdale Elementary has long been considered the most multicultural school on the island of Montreal. There, cultural diversity is considered the norm.

“Acceptance means you take the individual, you look at them as people,” said Perron.

“You take who they are and you accept who they are. You bring them into your world.”

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These are lessons that will last a lifetime.

“Now, they’re actually looking at their friends as a person and saying ‘I really like the way that you are always being so nice and helpful to our friends,'” said Dare.

This generation of kids hopes to help make bullying a thing of the past.