Virginia Bullying Laws: Do you know what they are?

A Guest Post from Studio13byMBSWorks.com. The last few weeks our household has been inundated with n

Good sportsmanship and team work

I spent the majority of my weekend on the soccer fields. No, I’m not a soccer player, but my s

 

Virginia Bullying Laws: Do you know what they are?

October 19, 2011 in Featured, Information

A Guest Post from Studio13byMBSWorks.com.

The last few weeks our household has been inundated with notices and conversations from and with our local Elementary School about the amount of bullying going on with the younger children. Some of it could be attributed to kids being kids…but more often than not, lately we’re seeing issues because of the have’s and have-nots. Young ones being allowed to bring electronic devices on the bus and to school for sharing or Show & Tell days.

The issue? Not all kids have access to the same kinds of toys, computers, electronics in general. Should these devices be allowed on the bus or in the school? As a parent, my stance is no. I may have elected to allow my child to have certain toys or things, or maybe they were given as gifts, but there is no reason for that item to be on the bus or in the school unless the school has provided it for educational purposes. It’s distracting. It creates problems.

As part of this discussion, several of the parents were unsure of what the State Laws were, I thought I’d share them here.

Virginia Bullying Laws

Bullying/Harassment - Code 22.1-279.6 (2008) requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guildelines and model policies must include standards for school board policies on self-defense and bullying. School boards are required to adopt and revise regulations that are are consistent with, but may be more stringent than, the guildelines of the Board. Each school board must include in itscode of conduct prohibitions against bullying, hazing and profane or obscene language or conduct.

Code 8.01-220.1:2 (2005) provides immunity from liability for school employees and volunteers from civil damages arising from reporting alleged acts of bullying or crimes against others, if the person in good faith promptly reports such acts or crimes to the appropriate school official incompliance with specified procedures.

Cyber Bullying - Code 22.1-279.6 (2008) requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guildelines and model policies must include standards for school board policies on the use of electronic means for the purposes of bullying, harassment and intimidation.

Hazing - Code 22.1-279.6 (2008) requires the Board of Education to establish guidelines and develop model policies for codes of student conduct to aid local school boards in the implementation of such policies. The guildelines and model policies must include standards for school board policies on hazing, and policies must cite Code 18.2-56, which defines and prohibits hazing and imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor for violations.

Source: National Association of State Boards of Education
Last Updated: 2/27/2009

Clearly we need more parent education as well as educating our children. The question becomes, how do we reach the parents as well?

This blog is part of the Ultimate Black Belt Test Program (www.UltimateBlackBeltTest.com), which is an undertaking of The 100. (www.The100.us), and find more about Stacia’s projects at (flavors.me/staciakelly).

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Good sportsmanship and team work

October 3, 2011 in Featured, Information

I spent the majority of my weekend on the soccer fields.

No, I’m not a soccer player, but my son was asked to pick a sport to focus on, and he selected soccer. (Thank you Universe, so much less expensive and better times to practice than ice hockey ;) ) Therefore, we’ve been on the soccer fields more often than not these past few weeks as he participates in Recreational soccer for the 5th or 6th season (I’ve honestly lost count), and is now also part of a cross over team, getting ready for Travel. That means 3 practices during the week and two games on Saturday. This weekend included a makeup game on Sunday. (I’m willing to play taxi if he’s going to focus and give it his all.)

I have met some wonderful coaches (actually, all the coaches we’ve had have been GREAT) and parents in this endeavor, and yet this past Saturday I was dismayed and appalled at the behavior I not only witnesses on the FIELD with the 7-8 year olds, but also the behavior on the sidelines of some of the parents of said 7-8 year olds.

By U8, the teams are no longer co-ed, and they’re now focusing on learning to play positions, team work and really learning the sport rather than just running around in clumps after the ball. It was cute when they were 3, it’s not so cute when they’re doing it at 7+ and can seriously damage each other.

Our Team

Our team has a wonderful coach this season (we’ll call him Coach K), he’s very focused on teaching them the correct skills and positions and really pushing each and every one of them to test out their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses. He’s not only our U8 Rec Coach, but also our U8 Crossover Coach. Cross over teams play 5 on the field plus a goalie, focused on positions and learning the skills of the game. He takes into account the kids personalities, how they’re feeling that day and tends to keep to a fun loving, let’s play mood on during the Rec Games. During a Rec Game, when the team is too far ahead in goals, he has them work on skills on the field and really wants them allowing the other team the chance to score a few goals too. He even pulls a player off the field and plays one man down if necessary to allow the other team to work on their skills and scoring. And, he’ll cheer and encourage the other team’s players just as much as his own. Cross Over Games are much more intense and focused on playing soccer to win as a team.

What I Saw Happening at the Rec Game

All of our kids are learning. Who do they learn from? Their parents, their teachers….their coaches. I am a martial artist. I teach self control, respect, shake the pain off and get up and keep moving to help your team out (plus you don’t want to get kicked in the head), and a whole host of other things as well. One of the things we teach is focus and control of your kicks, and in soccer, the ball.

Saturday morning, the first hit came as an elbow to the face.

Next were the attempts at leg sweeps, the shoving/pushing, the jump kicking to the groin, and  a whole host of unprofessionalism and down right just trying to be mean. Yes, there is to be some of that to be expected, but when each child came off the field in a fit of pain, while the other team congratulated each other on another new goal and general trash talking (yes, trash talking at their age). I reminded one of our parents that yelling at them about it when it was the parents that needed to be corrected first, then the child. She calmed down some, but she had a valid reason for being ready to correct the child. I took my child aside during a break to explain that if he got hit, pushed, shoved to either roll with it and come back up on his feet or block and evade. As my discussion with one of the other mothers….I should NOT be having to have a self defense discussion with my son on the soccer field. I should be helping him focus on speed, timing and skills. I also should not have to be counseling him on no he can’t swing back 1) because it’s not right and 2) because as a young martial artist, he could do serious damage to the other player too. Our boys recognize they take a knee and stop when there is a player down, NOT high five and generally cheer on your buddies.

Winning isn’t everything.

As each of us stopped to remind our boys, it doesn’t count as winning when you are:

  • Purposely going out of your way to hurt other players.
  • Not playing by the rules of the game, then what’s the purpose of playing the game?
  • Trash talking the other team esp at this young age. “You’re so far behind, you suck.” And that was just one of the comments I overheard.
  • Accusing others of faking taking a hit.
  • And so on.
Thankfully, most of our boys took the game as just a game. They weren’t concerned about the loss. As Coach K coached them, and I reiterated with my son….did you play your position? Did you listen to your coach? Did you work your hardest to help out your teammates? Then that is what counts. Clustering up, overwhelming, overpowering players playing their position, attempting to hurt them….even going after your mother on the sidelines after your coach pulls you from the game for bad conduct?
No only just uncool, but that’s just being a bully.
Our boys play this team two more times before the season is over. As it’s going, I can only hope that none of them suffer a broken bone. And yes, I will have to say something not only to the child, the coach…but also the parent. Should my child end up with the broken bone, I hope that other child’s parent understands….their child will be coming to martial arts class and learning the idea of respect, honor and playing to play. By the rules. For the love of the game. They’ll be doing kindness projects, learning about their elders.
This scares me. Is this what we’re teaching our kids? At this age, they’re only going to carry it forward into Middle and High School. We’re going to get MORE athletes who think they’re entitled to do what they want, when they want and how they want…on or off the field. Yes, that is the extreme.
But it STARTS SOMEWHERE…..and what if, somewhere is HERE.

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Supplements & Our Students

August 31, 2011 in Featured, Nutrition

Today, I was asked to speak to the Advanced PE Instructors for Prince William County Public Schools. Our  topic? Teen Athlete’s and Supplements.

We strayed all over the place from nutrition and supplements to how to keep the kids engaged in learning.

We had some great questions, mostly centered around WHICH supplements would I recommend for teen athletes. Here’s a quick summary and my reasoning as to why:

  1. Quality vitamin & chelated minerals
  2. CoEnzymeQ10 is a great recovery antioxidant
  3. Grape Seed Extract – reduces inflammation
  4. Protein powders – when they’re not eating enough quality foods
  5. Fish oil – essential fats Read the rest of this entry →

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Don’t Let Your Diet Sabotage Your Degree

August 22, 2011 in Featured, Nutrition

Research shows that college students tend to abandon their healthy eating habits once they are away from home. Many students skip meals and don’t get enough sleep, which can lead to bad results when it comes to nutrition. Eating poorly can lead to poor academic achievement because students don’t have the energy or mental clarity to absorb the content from their classes, which can lead to longer study nights and even worse food cycles. With a little organization and some extra willpower, students can maintain the energy they need from a good diet and avoid the typical weight gain that is associated with the first year or two of school.

Fitting Breakfast In

One of the biggest obstacles to eating healthily in college is skipping breakfast. Sleepy students would rather catch a few more minutes in bed than get up early enough to eat before their first class. It is possible to sleep in and eat something that will stick with you in the mornings, however. Choose portable foods like breakfast sandwiches that you can eat on the way to class. Your body needs the energy boost after your blood sugar levels have dropped overnight. Read the rest of this entry →

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No Time to Dine? So You Think

July 27, 2011 in Featured, Nutrition

Five Fast and Healthy Family Recipes

With everyone’s busy schedule these days, it might seem impossible to find time to cook a healthy meal that everyone will enjoy. Before you dip into your stash of prepackaged frozen food or call for pizza, check out these quick and easy alternatives. These are easy to cook and fast to prepare.

1. Oatmeal Pecan and Chocolate Breakfast Cookies

  • 1 cup of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of margarine
  • 2 tsp. of vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp. of salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup of egg substitute
  • 1 cup of wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup of white flour
  • 1 tsp. of baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp. of clove
  • 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cups of quick oats
  • 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips
  • 1 cup of pecans (pieces or chopped) Read the rest of this entry →

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