Good morning all! Passing along this release from Bill Belsey! FYI!

Bullying Awareness Week 2008 – November 3, 2008

Cochrane, Alberta -Bullying.org

Bullying.org is pleased to announce that the sixth annual Bullying Awareness Week will take place from November 16th – 22nd, 2008. The theme will be “Stand Up to Bullying!”

“I cannot believe how much this grassroots, community-based movement has grown over the past six years”, says Bill Belsey who is President of Bullying.org and the original founder of the annual event.

“We have gratefully received support from businesses like Family Channel and Netscaffold Corp. and encouragement from organizations like the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and PREVNet”, acknowledges Belsey.

“It is very gratifying to know that this simple, but powerful idea has grown to now involve schools and communities around the world”, observes the father and classroom teacher from Cochrane, Alberta.

“Some people say that by talking about bullying it will just make things worse, but the world’s leading researchers say that you must name the problem and discuss it in order to prevent it. The whole idea of the week is to prevent bullying through education and raising awareness in a positive, proactive way. For far too long society has seen bullying as a `rite of passage’ or a `normal” part of life. Being scared to go to school, being full of anxiety because of a harassing boss or co-workers, or thinking of hurting yourself or others because of bullying is not normal”, notes Belsey.

“I would like to invite all schools and communities to join this annual grassroots initiative, because bullying is not simply a school issue, it is a broader community health and wellness issue”, encourages Belsey.

For more information, go to www.bullyingawarenessweek.org.

Bullying Awareness Week Highlights November 16th – 22nd, 2008:

· Peer Power Youth Leadership Network: Youth ages 13-18 presenting research-based multimedia presentations with content created by youth for youth ages 8-12

· Canada’s Caring Kids Awards: Honoring youth who have shown courage and leadership by “Standing Up to Bullying!” and  being a friend to others who need help and support (*Research by Dr.Wendy Craig of Queen’s University and Dr. Debra Pepler has shown that bullying will stop in less than 10 seconds most og the time when peers intervene in bullying situations).

· Monday, November 17th: Bullying Awareness Week Kick-off Day! -Get the Facts

· Tuesday, November 18th: Bullying is a Community Issue Day!

· Wednesday, November 19th: Stop Cyberbullying Day!

· Thursday, November 20th: BE the Change! -Youth Leadership and Action Day!

· Friday, November 21st: Blue Friday: Wear blue as a sign of peace today

Note: Bill Belsey is the founder and President of Bullying.org* . He is the creator of www.bullying. org, the world’s most-visited and referenced Website about bullying, www.cyberbullying.org, the worlds’ first Website about cyberbullying, the annual Bullying Awareness Week, see www.bullyingawarenessweek.org and www.bullyingcourse.com, which offers online courses and Webinars for parents, educators and concerned citizens about the issues of bullying and cyberbullying.

Mr. Belsey is a father of two teenage children and currently teaches grade five at Springbank Middle School for Rockyview Schools Division in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, see www.coolclass.ca “Canada’s Coolest Class!” He is a winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and a Fellow of the prestigious World Technology Network. He has done presentations across Canada and around the world on the topics of bullying, cyberbullying, teaching and learning with technology and global education. See www.inukshuk.com.