Safe Schools

Safe Schools

With recent developments such as the stabbing taking place at Durnbarton High School in Pickering, Ontario, an important, yet often ignored issue has arisen. Are schools really safe? How can we protect ourselves and those who we love. Additionally, how can schools and communities alike avoid these acts of violence?

We are well aware of many of the most common violence committed at school. An example of these dangerous school violences was on October 1, 2015. There was a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College killing 10 people, and injuring many more. Surprisingly, since then there were at least 79 reports of school lock-downs taking place in the United States.

Instead of focusing on instances of violence, it is important to make sure our schools are safe. Here at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School, the school is relatively safe, however, it can NEVER BE TOO SAFE. Bullying is not visibly at the school, but is still an issue. With the age of technology, bullying has evolved. You know longer see people yelling and swinging fist at each others like the movies, but instead most of the bullying occurs online. You see kids posting reckless comments, and hurting others. Despite not being visible to the human eye, bullying is still an issue.

Luckily, there are many people and programs specifically focused on helping victims of bullying. If you or someone you know is being bullied, encourage them to speak to trusted teachers such as their teacher adviser, or another subject teacher. Furthermore, the student being bullied can also go to the guidance office for counselling. Despite these services that help students who are going through difficult times, there is still room to improve. Students can be encouraged to stand up to the bullies, and teacher can report acts of bulling as well. Furthermore, more security cameras can be installed to help the students feel safer, but cause the bully to have a sense of "someones always looking at me, monitoring me."

In conclusion, Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School is a very safe school. Bullying is not a big issue, neither is violence. However, the Mary Ward Community can form together to help those going through difficult times, and to stand up to bullies.