Assistant Principal Report 

Dear Parents and Carers, 

On Thursday July 21st all students at Melton West Primary School have the opportunity to attend an incursion by the Starrs Production Group. The Prep-2 performance is entitled, ‘Bully No More.’ The 3-6 is entitled, ‘The Cyber Bully.’ This incursion is fully funded by the school as at Melton West Primary School we believe that it is important that the whole school community understands what bullying is and how to the enact processes to prevent this happening. 

In ‘Bully No More’ the play explores what bullying is, how it makes you feel and offers strategies to deal with the problem. The actors involved in the production are drama graduates and have strong backgrounds in theatre and working with children.

‘Bully No More.’ dramatises a troubled friendship between two students at primary school. Eric can’t understand why he is always being picked on by Becksy at lunch time. He confides in his good friend Ralph who gives him a few home truths and some great advice. He sets out to discover why Becksy treats him the way she does.

 As Eric begins to understand what is making Becksy act the way she does he discovers that he and Ralph can help her through peer support and friendship. They discover they can be friends after all. The play dramatises what bullying is; physical, verbal, visual and offers positive strategies that enable children to deal with bullying. A de-brief session is offered after the play.

In, ‘The Cyber Bully’ Zoe and her cousin Edward have a lot of time on their hands. They are always online. One day Zoe discovers she can torment the girls she doesn’t like in her class using her favourite social networking sites and her mobile phone. She and Edward let loose thinking its harmless fun. Neither realises the impact of their actions. 

Things get a little crazy and Zoe starts suffering text-iety, post traumatic texting disorder not to mention post text depression. Eventually Edward and Zoe face the consequences of their actions. 

‘The Cyber Bully’ is an entertaining play that explores the serious issue of cyber bullying among young people. The play looks at the misuse of texting, social networking sites and unauthorised use of pictures and footage. 

There will be a debrief session offered after the performance where the actors will address important issues that are raised during the play and occur due to cyber bullying. 

Kind regards

Jennifer O’Connor

Assistant Principal.