Fairview Heights State School student tells bullies to ‘buzz off’ in new anti-bullying campaign
A Toowoomba primary school student has launched the third edition of her homegrown anti-bullying campaign, and it’s delivering results for her colleagues.
Education
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Olivia Gollan didn’t want to go to school anymore, such was the impact of being a victim bullied.
Now the ambitious Year 5 Fairview Heights State School student is helping her classmates to reach out for help, celebrating her third year of running Bullying No Way Day.
The campaign, which encourages students to speak up if they’re being bullied or see someone else being bullied, comes in the form of special orange T-shirts that Olivia designed and her parents printed.
“When I was younger, I was bullied and I saw other people being bullied and I knew it was wrong,” Olivia said.
It comes as Australia marks the 11th National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.
Olivia’s mother Tracey said starting the movement had also given her daughter confidence she couldn’t find before.
“Olivia got to the stage where she didn’t want to go to school, and for such a young child to confide in us early was really important,” she said.
“We want to remind children that they do have a voice and they can change things.
“As a child gets older, they’re exposed to a lot more bullying – you see it in the workplace and on social media, so it’s an important message to spread around early.”
Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts said Olivia’s story was an example of a grassroots school campaign being driven by students.
“This is someone who was subjected to bullying when they were little, have taken control of that and have started to change the whole culture of the school,” he said.
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