On Oct. 30, the students of John Allison Elementary School stood together with their right hands raised while they recited the WITS Oath with principal, Barry Clarke.
“I promise to use my WITS, to walk away, ignore, talk it out and seek help when I’m dealing with teasing and bullying.” “I promise to also help other kids use their WITS to keep my school and my community a safe and fun place to be and learn.”
Sarah Illingsworth, school counsellor and teacher Mrs. Charlene Anderson spoke to the children about using their WITS, and what that stood for. WITS is a program used to teach kids strategies they can use to deal with teasing or bullying. Walk away / Ignore / Talk it out / Seek Help, from a parent, teacher, police officer or from an older kid.
Illingsworth reintroduced WITSUP the Walrus, the school Mascot with magical friends who visits with the children throughout the year.
Teachers and support staff as well as community leaders like; Mrs. Carol Mack and Cst. Shiell from the Princeton RCMP were present to take the oath with the children. Cst. Shiell, spoke with the children to help remind them of who were safe people to get help from. “This is a very valuable program,” he said.
To learn more about the WITS program, ask your child and visit witsprogram.ca