Bullying has been prevalent in our education system for many years, most commonly taking the form of hazing, initiations, and teasing and now evolving into new forms like cyber bullying.  Sponsored by Tim Hortons, this program sees Toronto Argonauts Players, Cheerleaders and the Canadian Safe School Network working together to make all schools safer places. Rather than concentrating solely on correcting the behaviour of the bully, we focus our message on influencing the attitudes of all parties.  Victims and bystanders can learn to address the situations before they result in negative actions.  As a result, The Argos Foundation is proud to offer a multi-faceted program to convey key messages to help students prevent bullying in their schools.

Huddle Up Student Committee

Argos representatives empower members of your Huddle Up Student Committee to promote key bullying prevention messages throughout their school community.  Prior to arriving at the school for the assembly, a “Huddle Up” team member meets with a school administrator chosen committee consisting of 10 students. The Huddle Up Student Committee is made up of student leaders (i.e. members of sports teams), as well as students who have previous experience with bullying and being bullied. In elementary schools, these students range from grades 3-8.  A “Huddle Up” team representative gives the chosen 10 students guidance to create in-school initiatives that enhance the Huddle Up message prior, during and after the actual presentation. Staff advisors are given a set of guidelines to assist them through this process.

Huddle Up School Assembly

The assembly involves the participation of an Argonauts player, staff member and most importantly, the students. The format of the assembly is designed to provide students with bullying awareness and the necessary tools to deal with the issue.  The format is as follows:

• Students from your school perform a presentation that introduces this valuable message.
• A member of the “Huddle Up” team introduces the program, partners and the issue of bullying. Some topics that are covered in this portion are the impact the bystander has on bullying, the reasons someone bullies and some solutions to the problem.
• The Toronto Argonauts player speaks about their own personal experiences and how they have developed their character.  The player provides the students with a personal account of the tools needed to deal with the issues at hand.
• Conclusion-Information on assistance with this issue.

Huddle Up Student Committee Summit

The Huddle Up Student Committee members from your school as well as a staff advisor will be invited to a Student  Committee Summit hosted by The Argos Foundation, Argonauts players, cheerleaders, team members and program partners to address the issues surrounding bullying. This summit is positioned as a brainstorming session that will provide students with an open forum to share their school’s perspective on leadership, bullying and violence in schools.  The Student Committee Summit will provide your committee with the opportunity to take valuable information back to their school to improve their educational environment.

Also Included

Every school that signs up for the Huddle Up Program will receive:

• Program guidelines for the program staff advisor, with example skits and assembly guidelines for the student committee
• Huddle Up Promotional Posters
• Huddle Up Committee T-Shirts
• Tickets to a pre-season Toronto Argonauts Home Game
• “Cool Heads in the Zone” anti-bullying CD-Rom (value $300) or “In the Long Run” video (value $300) courtesy of the Canadian Safe School Network

Parent Evening Information/Professional Development Teacher Presentation

In order for the bullying prevention message to be successful at school, students must hear it not only from the Argonauts but from teachers, parents and school administrators.  This message must be consistent everywhere. Schools that have chosen this option, have the opportunity to host an information session on bullying prevention with a “Huddle Up” representative and Detective Sargeant Kevin Guest, author of “Youth Violence: How to Protect Your Kids”. This session educates community members in regards to how to identify and protect young people from violence. In addition, the parents, teachers and administrators are made aware of the messaging that their students receive.

Huddle Up with the Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders to Stop Female Bullying

Bullying occurs in all shapes, sizes and genders. Therefore as an added option to the regular messaging, The Argos Foundation is proud to offer schools a new angle to the bullying prevention message. Schools have the option to utilize a member of the Blue Thunder Cheerleading team to convey the message. This presentation takes the form of a small scale forum for girl’s phys-ed classes and/or female sports teams.

For more information on this program, or to find out how to bring it to your school, please contact us

By email: huddleup@argonauts.on.ca

By phone: (416) 341-2762

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