Families

At Princeton Middle School we continue to take bullying serious and work hard to reduce bullying. The best way to do this is by educating our students, parents, and staff on how to effectively address bullying. I am pleased to inform parents that our school uses the most effective program designed to reduce and prevent bullying at our school. Advisors will be teaching the curriculum during our advisory time along with our character education curriculum. I encourage you to ask your child about what they are learning and follow updates in our newsletters.

Below is some information on the program and a definition of bullying. If you would like more information you may visit the Olweus website at www.olweus.org/public/index.page

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is a school-wide program designed to prevent or reduce bullying throughout the school setting. The multi-component approach involves individuals, classrooms, entire schools, as well as parents and communities, to successfully address bullying in schools.

Olweus, creator of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, provides us with this commonly accepted definition for bullying in his book, Bullying at School: What We Know and What We Can Do:

"A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending him or herself."

The State of Minnesota passed a Bullying Bill a number of years ago that outlines the definition of bullying and how schools in the state are going to handle bullying in schools. The new legislation will give students, parents, teachers, and schools a clear definition of what bullying behavior is and how to handle situations where students are bullied. Most importantly, how we can support students who are bullied, and help students who bully others make better choices on how they treat others.

There are many ways to report bullying behaviors that students witness and/or feel they are the victim of offensive behavior. First, we want students to report it to an adult. This could be a parent, teacher, counselor, paraprofessional, or administrator. Second, we encourage all students to fill out an offensive behavior report so our school can stop the offensive behavior that is occurring. There is an online form that students or parents can fill out and there is a paper form that we have in our MS office.

Both of these forms will go to school staff and administration so we can respond and stop the offensive behavior that is occurring. I want all students and parents to know our school staff will investigate, gather information, and address all reports of offensive behavior. As a school, we always address offensive behavior and never ignore or do nothing. Our goal is to teach students to be respectful towards one another and educate students who treat others poorly. Please encourage your student to report offensive behavior so our school can address and correct problems.

The Prestige Card Program began in 1989 and has been going strong ever since! Middle school students earn their Prestige Cards by holding either an A or B honor roll status. Students who qualify will receive a special sticker that will be placed on the back of their student ID cards. The card can then be used for discounts and free merchandise throughout the business community. The program has been a successful example of community and school cooperation and reinforces positive academic behavior.

Parents who wish to leave a message for their child at school may do so by calling 763-389-6757. Voice mail will be checked twice daily both at 11:00 a.m., and again at 2:45 p.m. Messages will be given to students during lunch or at the end of the day. Messages left after 2:45 p.m., will be given to the student the next school day. Due to the large number of messages we receive, we ask your cooperation in limiting the use of this service to emergencies only. Thank you for your help!

If your child is leaving early on a particular day, please have your child bring a note to the office that morning so they can get their planner stamped with a pass to meet you in the office for pick-up. By following this procedure your student can show the teacher their “stamp” without office staff interrupting the class on the overhead speaker. Remember to be sure and include the time you will be arriving in the note.

Parents, please help us out by reminding your student(s) that personal cell phone use is not permitted during the school day. All personal electronic devices must be kept in students’ lockers during school hours. As a result, we ask that you please refrain from texting your student during the school day. The office can relay phone messages to students if necessary. If you are dropping something off for your student, please leave it in the office and he/she will be called to the office between classes to pick up the item. We greatly appreciate your help in this matter!