Don't Kick Penguins-Workshop On Bullying Issues

Don’t Kick Penguins is a workshop program that addresses bullying issues for adolescent youth. It will be presented on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at McHenry County College from 8:30 AM until 1 PM. The primary goal is to address issues that can cause stress and bullying in middle school students’ lives.

This is the second year Don’t Kick Penguins is being offered by Principled Minds and McHenry County College.

According to Harold Rail, Executive Director of Principled Minds, “We believe there is value in offering avenues for information about key bullying issues middle school students may be facing. It is our goal to help students get information that can create positive changes in their lives, to try to help them avoid suffering some of the difficulties adolescents face, and to show them healthy ways to address the issues they may be experiencing at a pivotal point in their lives.

The sessions are open to all McHenry County middle school students.

There will be a brief experiential intro­ductory session and a closing session that will give hands-on tools for both parents and students.

There will be workshops on same sex relationships; healthy relationships; ethnic and racial issues; social self image; peer issues with electronic technology including safety, dangers, and challenges; developmental dis­abilities; mental health and depression; and families of those incarcerated.

Each workshop session will last 45 minutes with a 15 minute breaks between. There will be three workshop periods and each will offer choices of three different topics. Students will have the opportunity to attend a total of three different sessions.

Parents, teachers and counselors will receive condensed presentations on all nine workshops in the MCC Conference Center.

Local social service agencies will have information tables set up outside the cafeteria. Music entertainment will be held in the student commons area. Snacks and beverages will be provided.

Fees for the day are $10 for students and for parents and cover partici­pation in the sessions. a T-shirt, snacks and drinks. Fees can be waved in case of need.

The goal of Don’t Kick Penguins is to provide a way for students to explore bullying issues in an open and safe environment. The workshops will be arranged so that students can interact and explore new information by work­ing together with other students and with facilitators. The goal of each program is to initiate discussion and an examination of the various issues that students may be facing and to open the new way of thinking that could have life-changing results. Session facilitators are professionals in the areas covered.

Among the organizations lending support and expertise to the program are Phi Theta Kappa, McHenry County Schools, Community Partnership Coalition, and many of the social service agencies offering support programs in McHenry County.