Rainbow Schools mark Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week

Rainbow Schools are marking Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week from November 17 to 22, 2025. Educational activities, lessons and initiatives are part of Rainbow District School Board’s ongoing commitment to safe and inclusive schools.

In 2022, the Board piloted the Dare to Care anti-bullying program in 12 schools. The Canadian program has proven to be an effective way to build empathy and reduce bullying. The program has since been expanded to all Rainbow elementary schools.

“In Rainbow Schools, we build responsible and respectful citizens who care about each other and the world in which they live,” says Director of Education Bruce Bourget.

He adds: “When students feel safe and supported, in warm and welcoming learning environments, they gain a sense of belonging at school. Well-being is essential for student achievement.”

Rainbow District School Board’s commitment to student success is reflected in Strategic Directions through its mission: “Together, we prepare students to become lifelong learners, achieving their full potential as confident, caring members of society.”

Here’s what’s happening in Rainbow Schools for Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week:

A.B. Ellis Public School
During Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, students from A.B. Ellis Public School will create a “Kindness Chain” that aligns with the Dare to Care program. Throughout the week, classes will each grow a paper chain. When demonstrating an act of kindness, students can earn paper links created from G.O.O.S. (good on one side) paper. On Friday, November 21st, classes will join together for a school assembly to connect the paper chains. This activity encourages mindfulness by helping students focus on and recognize kind acts while creating a tangible representation of their commitment to kindness. The goal is to create a ripple effect, where acts of kindness and positivity serve as inspiration for others.

Adamsdale Public School
Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week kicked off at Adamsdale Public School with a Dare to Care assembly on Thursday, November 13th. Students will focus on the importance of kindness and understanding the difference between bullying and buddy behaviour. Staff and students will join together to create a contract outlining the positive behaviours expected at school. In addition, each student will receive a paper brick to sign. The bricks will form a collaborative display to symbolize a collective commitment to kindness and respect. Morning announcements will feature kindness quotes and daily challenges encouraging students to spread kindness. Each class will also take part in Kindness Bingo. The week will culminate with a celebration of students who demonstrate kindness. Together, students will reflect on how it felt to show kindness and the easiest/hardest challenges. To maintain momentum, students will have mini monthly challenges such as “Kindness Fridays” that will serve as a reminder that kindness should be practised all year long.

Algonquin Road Public School 
Throughout November, Algonquin Road Public School is focusing on respect and gratitude as part of the Dare to Care initiative. The month began with a Secret Kindness Buddy Challenge where students completed anonymous acts of kindness for classmates. The class with the most kind acts will earn the honour of hosting the Dare to Care Bear for the month. During Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, students will take part in theme days including wear pink for “Kindness Starts With Me”, mismatched shoes or socks to “walk in someone else’s shoes”, “Words Matter” clothing with inspirational messages, Twin Day, and ending the week with school colours for “We Stand Together.” A display will reinforce messages of kindness and accountability including a Respect Tree of student pledges and a “Don’t Stand By!” anti-bullying board. Students will explore themes of respect through art, health, language and social studies, and will read stories to deepen their understanding and foster a greater sense of empathy.

Assiginack Public School
Students from Assiginack Public School focus on kindness and anti-bullying throughout the school year beginning with Wear Pink Day, which sparked dialogue about the origin of the day and provided a foundation for the Dare to Care program that began in October. Through the program, students have considered what kind and positive behaviour looks like. Primary students will create a “Kindness” display. The All-Star Principal’s Council has launched a points challenge focused on kindness and helping others. Students are learning about the positive impact they can have by spreading kindness throughout the greater community, including their work with the Terry Fox Run, the outdoor education project – food for the community, and the Remembrance Day ceremonies held at the local Cenotaph.

C.R. Judd Public School
Students from C.R. Judd Public School will continue to engage in the Dare to Care program as part of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. Through classroom discussions, read-alouds and activities, students will deepen their understanding of kindness, empathy and how to stand up for others. Together, we are building a school community where everyone feels safe, included and respected.

Central Manitoulin Public School
Throughout Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, students from Central Manitoulin Public School will take part in activities that promote kindness and inclusion. This year’s theme is “Kindness is Strength: True Strength Comes from Lifting Others Up”. Students will participate in a Kindness Chain. They will focus on the idea that a single link can easily bend or break, but when they are connected, they become much stronger. The strength of the chain comes from links supporting each other. Each time a student participates in or witnesses an act of kindness, they will write it on a paper link. The links will be connected to form a Kindness Chain for display in the hallway.

Churchill Public School
Churchill Public School will participate in many activities throughout Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week. Students will continue with Dare to Care assemblies on Monday, November 17th with a focus on understanding different types of bullying and strategies to deal with bullying situations. Students will take part in shared readings throughout the week, focusing on the importance of showing kindness, standing up to bullies and learning how one person’s bravery can make a big difference. Students will create “Be the I in KIND” posters and will learn ways to spread kindness.

Confederation Secondary School
The senior and junior art classes from Confederation Secondary School, alongside some students from English classes, will work on a collaborative anti-bullying mural called “Faces of Change.” The art will communicate the theme of anti-bullying and empowerment. Each student will create an abstract piece that represents emotions, experiences or solutions related to bullying through forms, colours and symbols that, once assembled, will form a powerful, unified work to display at the school. English classes will contribute poems related to bullying, anti-bullying, hope, resilience and community.

Copper Cliff Public School
The entire Copper Cliff Public School community has been following the Kindness Calendar with each day focusing on a different act of kindness. For Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, Kindergarten students will develop an anti-bullying pledge. They will also read books including Stuart J. Murphy’s “Freda Stops a Bully” and “Attack of the Bully Bug”. Junior students will explore the Jacqueline Woodson book “Each Kindness” – a story about empathy, kindness, and how our actions affect others. Following discussions in class, students will complete a short reading response that reflects a time they had the chance to show kindness – or a time they wish they had. Students will also brainstorm ways to spread kindness around the school and community and will engage in mini lessons from the Overcoming Obstacles website. Students caught being kind will earn a ballot for the chance to win a daily prize. Students will also enjoy a visit from the School Resource Officer.

Lansdowne Public School
Students and staff from Lansdowne Public School will participate in Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week with a focus on kindness, respect and inclusion. Students will take part in a “We Care Wednesday” assembly to celebrate those caught being kind. Students will also meet the new 29er Kindness Crew – a group of student leaders that will promote empathy and respect, lead Dare to Care initiatives, plan monthly kindness challenges, and recognize acts of kindness schoolwide. All students will contribute to a Kindness Chain by writing about a kind gesture they’ve made to display throughout the school. A Kindness Tree will grow each week as new leaves are added to recognize students caught being kind.

Larchwood Public School
Throughout the school year, students and staff from Larchwood Public School focus on kindness as well as bullying awareness and prevention. Monthly Dare to Care assemblies focus on values from the Rainbow District School Board’s Strategic Directions. Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week will kick off with random acts of kindness. Students are encouraged to leave positive messages for their peers. Ballots will also be given to students to nominate others for sharing random acts of kindness. On Tuesday, staff and students will focus on the message “Everyone Belongs Here.”  Classes will create a paper chain where each link will have a promise to stand up against bullying. The chains will be connected and displayed in the main foyer. On Wednesday, students will explore the power of our words.  Each class will read “The Power in Word: An Empowering Guide to Speaking with Purpose” and, for morning announcements, students will add examples of words that build people up.  On Thursday, students will make Christmas cards for seniors living in local retirement and long-term care facilities for the upcoming holidays. The week will culminate with Friendship Friday – where classes will buddy up for math games and reading buddies.

Lasalle Elementary School
Lasalle Elementary School has a week of meaningful initiatives planned for Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week led by their dedicated staff and the Dare to Care Student Club. Students will take part in daily events designed to promote kindness, empathy and friendship throughout the school. To kick off the week, students are invited to wear unique socks to celebrate individuality and promote unity against bullying. Throughout the week, teachers will lead reflection activities, encouraging students to think about empathy, friendship, and the power of their words and actions. The Dare to Care Club will prepare special “First Aid” boxes for classes, which will contain kind messages offering students bursts of encouragement and reminders that empathy and caring can brighten anyone’s day. A highlight of the week will be the creation of a school mural reflecting the message, “Every Step Toward Kindness Makes Our School a Better Place.” Upbeat songs will play throughout the school as students work together, demonstrating their commitment to kindness.

Lasalle Secondary School
Students and staff from Lasalle Secondary School will recognize Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week through classroom activities and morning announcements. Students will take part in a visual demonstration to show how unkind words leave lasting effects, even after an apology. Students will watch an anti-bullying pledge video, then sign a large version of the pledge to show their commitment to kindness. Finally, students will participate in a “web of kindness” activity using yarn to symbolize how positive words and actions build connection and community, and how bullying can damage that web of trust.

Levack Public School
Throughout Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, students from Levack Public School will enjoy read-alouds about kindness, respect and empathy. Kindness ballots will be read during announcements to celebrate kind moments and actions, which will also be displayed in a paper chain throughout the hallways. Staff and students will continue using the Seven Grandfather Teachings to promote and instill the values within them, and Dare to Care assemblies will continue with topics including the power of kindness.

Little Current Public School
Staff and students at Little Current Public School will recognize Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week in a variety of ways. Classes will continue working on the Dare to Care program to engage students in age-appropriate discussions about bullying. A Community Services Officer with the Ontario Provincial Police will visit the school to speak with students about bullying and bully prevention. Mayor Al MacNevin will read to the primary students about what it means to be kind.

Markstay Public School
To kick off Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week on Monday, November 17th, staff and students of Markstay Public School will wear odd socks to celebrate their differences.  Throughout the week, students will work towards completing their “Acts of Kindness Bingo” sheet, which includes holding a door open for a friend, saying kind words, and helping the school community. Staff and students will receive a strip of paper to write a kind word or message that will be used for a Kindness Chain, which will be presented on Thursday, November 20th at a Dare to Care assembly.

Monetville Public School
Throughout Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, staff and students from Monetville Public School will continue to promote the “Extraordinary Eagles Always Initiative.” Morning announcements will reinforce student learning about bullying and the various types. Students will also continue their learning through the Dare to Care program, and participate in our Monetville House Families Day, where they will work together in teams on anti-bullying related activities.

Queen Elizabeth II Public School
All Kindergarten to Grade 6 students from Queen Elizabeth II Public School will continue to engage in the Dare to Care program. Students will learn about the importance of working together to create safe and inclusive environments, where everyone feels accepted, respected and ready to learn. Students will also be challenged to complete a variety of acts of kindness through the morning announcements. In addition, the school will welcome a visit from the School Resource Officer.

R.H. Murray Public School
Students and staff of R.H. Murray will focus on ways to show kindness. Staff and students are challenged to reach 500 acts of kindness to be displayed on the Kindness Tree.  Students will also have an opportunity to trace their hands and write words, images or messages related to anti-bullying and kindness. The hands will be united and placed along the hallway walls to create a continuous chain with the message being “Kindness is contagious. Spread it.”

R.L. Beattie Public School
Throughout November, the R.L. Beattie Public School community will focus on “Caring in Action.” Students will continue with Dare to Care assemblies that promote empathy, kindness and inclusion. The “Be Your Beattie Best” program will also reinforce ways students can demonstrate caring and respect each and every day. The school will reintroduce the Kindness Club, where students work alongside staff to plan and lead caring initiatives throughout the year. Teachers will share picture books and short stories that spark dialogue about empathy, friendship and standing up for others. The school will launch their participation in the Edgar Burton Kids Helping Kids Food Drive with themed days such as “It’s Cool to Be Kind”, where students will wear sunglasses to show their support while donating to the local food bank. All initiatives will help students put caring into action both inside and outside the school community.

Redwood Acres Public School
At Redwood Acres Public School, students and staff are actively engaged in the Dare to Care program. Students are encouraged to recognize positive qualities and talents of others as well as themselves. The book “A World of Kindness” developed by the editors and illustrators of Pajama Press will be shared with all students. Acts of kindness will be recognized throughout the week.

S. Geiger Public School
S. Geiger Public School staff and students have been working on connecting bullying awareness and prevention to the Seven Grandfather Teachings. The entire school community will gather in the gym for an assembly that will highlight this month’s teaching of Truth represented by the turtle debwewin. Students will contribute to a bulletin board featuring examples of how they demonstrate truth in their daily lives. Lessons will highlight the importance of being true to oneself and others, fulfilling obligations, and understanding, so that all students feel safe and accepted. Students will also create kindness chains. Read-alouds and activities that model truth and kindness will be highlighted throughout the week during morning announcements and in classes.

Valley View Public School
Staff and students at Valley View Public School will recognize Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week with continued engagement in the “Eagle Spirit Education” initiative, which focuses on embracing the Seven Grandfather Teachings and the Dare to Care program. In a celebration of diversity and inclusion, everyone is invited to take part in Odd Socks Day on Friday, November 21st. This day will encourage students to embrace differences and stand up against bullying. Throughout the year, individuals who demonstrate leadership in exemplifying the Seven Grandfather Teachings and embracing “the good way of life” are acknowledged with feathers to be added to the eagle, Esprit-Spirit-Zoongede’e – symbolizing the collective spirit and unity of the school community.

Walden Public School
All Kindergarten to Grade 6 students from Walden Public School will continue to engage in the Dare to Care program. Students will learn about the importance of working together to create safe and inclusive learning environments, where everyone feels accepted, respected and ready to learn. Students will continue to strive to model buddy behaviour rather than bully behaviour.

Westmount Avenue Public School
During Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, Westmount Avenue Public School will focus on positive, buddy behaviour. Some of the outdoor furniture will be reconfigured as a spot to “Make a Buddy, Care for a Friend”.  Students will also make “buddy bracelets” to distribute to friends.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Charette, Senior Advisor,
Corporate Communications and Strategic Planning,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-674-3171 ext. 7217.