Features
Student a ‘hermit’ after bullying
Saffron Howden 21st March 2009
CONCERNED PARENTS: Angry about bullying at Casino High school are rear from left, Alex Killiby, Greg Killiby, and Connie Scholl, and front from left, Anne (last name withheld), Monica Killiby, and Sharon Gill, all of Casino.
DAVID NIELSEN
The five parents, one of whom has removed their daughter from the school due to bullying, say the bullies go unpunished while the victims are left without support.
Connie Scholl took her child out of the school at the end of Year 7 after she became a ‘hermit’ as a result of bullying.
“She lasted the year out and I changed schools and she hasn’t had a problem since,” Ms Scholl said.
“She was told she was the problem.
“She was traumatised to the extent she was a hermit last year.”
The extra money spent on private schooling was worth it, Ms Scholl said.
Although, she added: “I go broke keeping them at a private school”.
Anne, who did not want her surname published, has two children at Casino High and said if she could afford to send them to a private school, she would.
“If I had another option I would, but I couldn’t afford the private school,” she said.
Anne said bullying was a major problem throughout the school.
“It’s very rampant up there,” she said.
And she thought the problem started with the school management.
Monica Killiby has taken her concerns directly to the NSW Department of Education and wants a formal investigation into the school.
“They have a duty of care towards these kids and they’re failing,” she said.
“It is mental torture. It is abuse. It starts right at the top with the headmaster.
“Other kids are being allowed to bully kids and are not being reprimanded.”
Mrs Killiby said one of her boys was suspended for being involved in an altercation where he was the victim.
The school, she said, was ‘in crisis’.
Fellow parent Sharon Gill is also worried.
“I’ve got two girls up there now and they’ve been put through the ringer,” she said.
The parents’ other concerns include:
- Teachers singling out students in front of other students by yelling or screaming at them;
- Records are not being kept of all instances of bullying, and;
- Bullying being ‘swept under the carpet’.
But most of the parents The Northern Star spoke to also pointed out there were some good teachers at the school.
“There are a couple of good staff members there,” Mrs Killiby said.
Casino High, which has around 850 enrolled students in Years 7 to 12, has hit back at the allegations.
Through a NSW Education Department spokesman, the school management denied bullying was ‘rife’.
So far this year, it had seven recorded cases of bullying at the school.
There were 17 recorded cases last year and nine cases in 2007.
“Teachers follow the school’s newly reviewed welfare and anti-bullying policy exactly as it appears on the school’s website: no bullying is tolerated, all students are dealt with completely fairly in a highly professional manner, and all necessary records are properly kept,” the school said.
The school advised unhappy parents to discuss their concerns with the school first.
“If parents are dissatisfied with the school’s handling of a matter they (are) strongly encouraged to discuss the matter with the school, and if they are still dissatisfied, are referred to welfare consultants or other senior staff at the District office of the NSW Department of Education and Training.”
The school also rejected suggestions it failed to keep records of all bullying instances.
“The school records all bullying cases as a matter of course as part of its welfare and discipline process and policy,” the school said.
Are you aware of cases of bullying that have gone unresolved? Leave your comments below.
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Recent comments on this article
I’m a student of Casino High and I realise that there is a lot of bullying there. I have witnessed first hand bullying. They treated me horribly over the past year and I couldn’t do anything because many teachers didn’t know me or my family. I told my parents who told me to just walk away whenever they came near me and go find someone else to hang around, which I did. But everyone seems to be forgetting that telling the right teacher at the time the bullying occurs helps you. If you don’t tell anyone how can they take note of your bullying and do something about it? My experience at Casino High so far has been fairly good. We have great sporting days and musical nights. Although bullying has been apart of my school life, it wouldn’t matter where I went to school there is just as much chance that I could get bullied. I know that there have been many great losses due to bullying, at one stage I wanted to be one of them, but you’re in high school now. It's time to grow up and learn that no matter what there is always going to be someone that thinks they are bigger and better then you. Even when you enter the real world you are going to meet people that think you are totally beneath them, but you have to learn to get along for the sake of living in society. As a student at Casino High, I have seen the way in which bullying is dealt with. My friend reported bullying to a teacher they trust and that teacher then helped them complete the proper form reporting the incident. This article really appals me because I know what bullying is like, I know the major strains it can have on your life, but I also know that without it you wouldn’t learn how to solve problems, how to stand up for yourself or how to pick your friends so that you have some kind of support.
As a teacher at this school I feel very upset by this statement:
“There are a couple of good staff members there,” Mrs Killiby said.
Let me assure the public there are more than a "couple" of good teachers at Casino High School.
My colleagues are hard working people who care deeply about the education of their students. They give many hours of their own time preparing lessons, marking assessment tasks, attending school socials, and coaching sporting teams and music students, for example.
We are all working to educate our students on how to behave properly, through the Positive Behaviour for Learning system. Each week on assembly drama students act out scenarios illustrating the right way to behave at school and in society. Weekly sessions occur in roll call time where we teach and reinforce the focus rule for the week.
It is too easy to blame schools. One would hope that parents would teach their children how to behave properly, but it seems that job is increasingly left to teachers.
In defence of our students I must say that the majority are wonderul young people who must get tired of being slurred by the actions of only a few.
We have to teach all students, easy and difficult. We can't just remove those who are still learning how to behave. We have systems in place to deal with misbehaviour and bullying.
Angela Froud
having children at casino high,i have two children at casino high both have have had extremely hard times there from both students and teachers.one son has totally withdrawn himself and only attends after i force him to attend i have been told he is old enough to make his own decisions yet im worried sick.the other son has tried so hard to turn himself and his bad situations with bullying at school around he has tried so hard yet still he comes home so depressed that some teacher has yelled at him given him blue cards sent him to office when he was nt the one doing anything wrong.there are a few teachers there that are brilliant life support and i offer my hand to say thanks.i ahve raised these children on my own and it breaks my heart when i offer to go to school and get help but told no mum you will make it worse.or i do report my concerns and ask for advise and nothing is done.no wonder the kids give up and accept this as normal life because it shouldnt be.yes there are a handful of great teachers but also a huge amount that are not as nice and need to learn that respect goes both ways.and bullying is not acceptable student or teacher, for i am a sole parent trying to help my kids through a tough time scholl shouldnt be so tough
" No Bullying Is Allowed "
What are you thinking just to get a laugh out of someone
you think you might impress or even the whole class, why on
God's beautiful earth would you purposely try to make another
human being feel lower than the dirt beneath the earth? in order
to feel better it's not necessary to make others feel worst
Each time you belittle them, their self esteem drops lower, the
world they share with you seems colder, you could be missing
out on the best friend you could ever have, if only you gave them
half a chance, each sighting of you, builds up fear in their hearts
and in their minds, sometimes they rather be dead, what a mean
and horrible thought to be responsible for putting in someone's head
they wish you were a friend instead of a foe, what goes around comes
around someday this awful feeling you undoubtedly will know! Some times
those close to them might encourage them to fight, which only adds to
the desire of flight! either at school in your neighborhood, family or work
please realize your unnecessary picking on others,either physically
or mentally truly hurts!
Parents please teach your children that there are everlasting effects, when
they intentionally make others feel like less, please "Teachers try your best to
add this lesson to your agenda, it's important in your students daily lives, please
don't spread this message Quietly,Teach it very Loud that In Your Schools,
neighborhoods or families "No Bullying Is Allowed"
Poet: Tina Marie Clark
Copyright:2009
Dedicated To: All Who Have Been Bullied And Those Who Do The Bullying!