5th Grade Fair & Bullying

We had an exciting opportunity to represent YESS this week at the two-day 5th Grade Fair. Sunset Ridge, Mesa, Flynn, and Harris Park Elementary schools were all in attendance during the two days, and I selected several YESS mentors and their mentees to speak to the 5th graders about why they joined YESS, what they were like when I first met them, and how they feel now that they have the support of YESS.

Amanda and her mentee Lea and Ean and his mentee Josiah speak to 5th graders at the fair.

I was so impressed by their abilities to speak clearly and confidently about their experiences.







The mentees, in particular, where exceptional. As 6th grade mentee Josiah put it, "When I first joined YESS I was very shy. But now I can talk to all of you guys and I don't even know you, but that is OK, because I have Ean and I know he can help me be more confident." We had countless 5th graders express their desires to join YESS, and I know we will have a great group of mentees to choose from come fall.

So proud of these eloquent speakers!

This past week in YESS we finished our documentary on bullying and did some further research as to why, exactly, bullies bully. We spent two days reading an article in a "Round Robin" fashion while having one mentor act as the "scribe" to take Cornell notes. Our scholars did a fantastic job of sharing these responsibilities. We learned some interesting facts, according to a recent study, such  as: 

Breann, Aileen, and their mentee Selene work to take Cornell Notes on Bullying.

• 50% of people experience bullying before their 20th birthday  
• 66% of people who admitted to bullying others were male. 
• Bullies are far more likely to have experienced a stressful or traumatic event of some sort within the last five years. 
• 33% of bullies are raised by someone other than their biological parents, often in a household that is crowded and may be violent. 
• Those who experience bullying are twice as likely to go on and bully others, and bullies often feel as their most important relationships are unstable and/or in jeopardy. 

Our scholars really connected with the documentary and are certainly viewing assault and bullying in a much more serious light. I am proud of the conversations we have had and the maturity with which they have handled this complex, personal, and very sensitive lesson. 

Stay tuned for more next week!