{"id":19955,"date":"2025-11-17T15:59:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T15:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cognita.network\/stgis\/?post_type=school_news&p=19955"},"modified":"2025-11-17T16:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T16:12:09","slug":"anti-bullying-week-2025-at-iszn-power-for-good-in-action","status":"publish","type":"school_news","link":"https:\/\/cognita.network\/stgis\/school-news\/anti-bullying-week-2025-at-iszn-power-for-good-in-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Bullying Week 2025 at ISZN: Power for Good in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Contributed by Dermot Kelly<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anti-Bullying Week 2025 brought the theme \u201cPower for Good\u201d<\/strong> to life across ISZN. Throughout the week, students explored how their everyday choices\u2014whether a kind word, a supportive gesture or a moment of empathy\u2014shape a safe and welcoming school environment.<\/p>\n

For an international school community like ISZN, where new students join throughout the year and friendships grow across cultures, the message of using one\u2019s influence positively resonated strongly with both long-standing students and those who have only recently joined us.<\/p>\n

Living Our Values: Resilience, Respect and Kindness<\/h2>\n

At ISZN, wellbeing is part of daily school life, and Anti-Bullying Week offered a meaningful opportunity to deepen this practice. Across both campuses, students made our values visible\u2014showing respect<\/strong> through daily appreciation notes, expressing kindness<\/strong> through intentional acts of support and building resilience<\/strong> by discussing how to speak up for themselves and others in challenging moments.
These values were not only discussed\u2014they were lived in classrooms, shared spaces and playgrounds.<\/p>\n

A Week Filled With Creativity, Learning and Connection<\/h2>\n

The programme featured a wide range of hands-on activities tailored to each age group.<\/p>\n

Primary School<\/h3>\n

Primary students engaged in daily themed activities<\/strong>, including the Kindness Chain<\/strong>, Compliment Cards<\/strong>, \u201cPower for Good\u201d pledges<\/strong>, the Buddy Challenge<\/strong> and a Kindness Hunt. <\/strong>Pre-K and Kindergarten especially enjoyed creating their own \u201cbuckets\u201d after reading Fill Your Bucket<\/em>, bringing the idea of \u201cfilling others\u2019 buckets\u201d to life in a joyful, concrete way. Kindergarten 2 students also wrote a collaborative kindness poem, weaving together their reflections on friendship and empathy.<\/p>\n

Secondary School<\/h3>\n

In Secondary, the week began with appreciation exercises during Assembly<\/strong>, followed by daily check-in challenges<\/strong> and action prompts encouraging students to notice and respond to opportunities to support one another.<\/p>\n

The standout moment of the week was the student-led Window Wall<\/strong> in the third-floor library. Students filled the windows with heartfelt messages about kindness, courage and standing up for others. The display grew steadily each day, becoming a powerful visual symbol of shared values within the Secondary School.<\/p>\n

The week also included broad community activities such as Odd Socks Day<\/strong>, the Window Wall challenge<\/strong>, Wear Blue Day<\/strong> and Help Someone Friday<\/strong>, which helped maintain energy and engagement across all year groups.<\/p>\n

Supporting Every Student in an International Community<\/h2>\n

Because ISZN welcomes students from countries and cultures around the world, each activity was designed around universal themes of belonging<\/strong>, respect<\/strong> and kindness<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Open-ended tasks enabled students to express themselves in ways that reflected their background and personal experiences. This helped ensure that the week felt equally relevant for long-standing ISZN families and students who are still adjusting to a new environment.<\/p>\n

Many of the week\u2019s activities – such as buddy challenges and appreciation notes – proved especially meaningful for students navigating new friendships or transitions.<\/p>\n

Strengthening Skills That Help Prevent Bullying<\/h2>\n

Throughout the week, students practised key social-emotional skills that support strong peer relationships and help prevent bullying from taking root:<\/p>\n