Assistant Principal

Understanding the Difference: Bullying vs Mean-on-Purpose Moments

At Mitcham Primary School, we believe every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued. As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting positive relationships, our students are learning about friendship through the URSTRONG Friendology program. This program helps children develop the skills to create healthy friendships built on trust and respect, and to recognise that every friendship is different, no friendship is perfect, and that friendships can change—and that’s OK.

One important part of this learning is understanding the difference between bullying and a mean-on-purpose moment.

What’s the Difference?

Bullying is when someone repeatedly and deliberately tries to hurt another person. It’s not a one-time event—it’s a pattern of behaviour that happens again and again, creating an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or emotional, and it often leaves the other person feeling powerless or unsafe.

A mean-on-purpose moment, on the other hand, is when someone says or does something unkind once—perhaps out of frustration, misunderstanding, or poor choices in the moment. It can still hurt, and it’s still important to address, but it’s not the same as bullying.

In Friendology, we teach that when these moments happen, it’s a chance to “green-up” our friendships—by reflecting, taking responsibility, and using healthy friendship strategies to repair trust and respect.

What Can Students Do?

When things go wrong in friendships, we encourage students to:

• Stand strong: Know that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.
• Talk it out: Use respectful words to express how they feel.
• Walk away: If someone continues being unkind, it’s okay to take space.
• Seek help: Talk to a trusted adult if the problem keeps happening or feels too big to handle alone.
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By learning these strategies, our students are becoming empowered to handle friendship ups and downs with confidence and care.

At Mitcham Primary, we celebrate that every friendship is unique. Friendships will sometimes change, and that’s a normal and healthy part of growing up. Through understanding, empathy, and open communication, our students are learning how to build friendships that are strong, respectful, and real.

Bron Steele

Assistant Principal