There is a major problem throughout Australia that cannot be ignored, for it involves all parents who have children of school age. The problem is the School Yard Bully. So wide spread is this that rarely a week goes by that it does not feature in our evening news; and in some cases it has resulted in mental breakdown and even suicide.
But now here in Noosa we have a group of four (who formed up in early 2018) who have decided to tackle this problem head on. Despite the fact they are only fourteen years of age, they have made remarkable advances, not only in their own school but also outside, at state, national and as of now, international level.
It was on 12 March 2018 that the boys really spoke up. “As a team we felt that the underlying problem, was that children often feel embarrassed or intimated to talk to teachers parents or other adults; so we decided that a good idea would be to form a team of kids, that kids can talk to and we could talk (to them) and help give advice. Then on March 19, we came up with the name Bully Buddies; and that started our journey as the “Bully Buddies.”
These young men who obviously carry old heads on young shoulders, determination and acceptance of responsibility beyond their years are Luca Dadzio, Charlie Fraser, Xavier Hargreaves and Lachy Sandford- Bell. All are members of St Andrews Anglican College, Peregian Springs, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
To consolidate their plan of action they designated a role for each group member and began working on the Bully Buddies website, YouTube and posters. The roles were designated as followers: for Luca it was Design Graphics and Marketing Manager, Charlie is Survey and Information Manager, Xavier is Information and Research Manager and Lachy is Website Designer and Information Manager.
“Will we ever eradicate bullying?” the Buddies ask. “Maybe not, but what we have put in place, piece by piece, is what the great Mahatma Gandhi called us all to do-, ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’
Further to this, they continue to develop their YouTube Channel to inform kids of the threat bullying poses, plus information and help to keep them safe.
It all started when the boys, all good mates, decided to participate in the 2019 Community Problem Solving Project and chose as their endeavor, school yard bullying. “Because we have all been bullied and know just how important it is to have self- belief, we wanted to help, educate and give our fellow students tools to rise above the bullying. This desire gave us the idea of the Bully Buddies.”
As a result of this the name has become widespread, in both local and now overseas communities.
To draw attention and make their fellow students more aware, they designed a black t-shirt on the front of which was the name, in big green letters, Bully Buddies. “These will be worn on the primary playground every Wednesday. Our aim is to ‘Stop’ the bullying, ‘Alert’ the teachers and ‘Spread’ the word, SAS—STOP, ALERT, SPREAD.”
According to a school flyer this grew into a Community Problem Solving Project. After many months of hard work the students submitted their project, winning first the Queensland Division, then on to Melbourne where they won the Future Problem Solving National Final. Thus, as the winners of the Australian Championship, they were invited to represent their country at the Future Problem Solving International Final to be held in June this year at the University of Massachusetts America.
‘’This was a wonderful achievement by these students,’’ said a school spokesperson, ‘’but more significantly, it is their program that they are working on that is inspiring. Mrs Jillian Green, Head of Thinking and Learning Enrichment at the college, has supported the students throughout the project and implements many strategies to increase self-belief and well-being of students.”
Then on Tuesday July 4, accompanied by school mentor Mrs Green and others, our Fabulous Four were on their way. After 33 hours of interconnecting flights they arrived at the University of Massachusetts: spending their first day exploring the University and making preparations for the competition.
“On Thursday June 6,” said Mrs Green, “we were involved in the Future Problem Solving International Final Opening Ceremony. This comprised welcoming 14 countries from across the globe and approximately 2500 students.”
For the final judging their competition included:
• A Community Problem Solving Fair where all competitors were required to set up a stand to clearly represent all aspects of the project worked on.
• An interview with International Evaluators, to discuss their project.
• Scrap Book: all groups submitted a detailed scrap book representing all aspects of the project.
• Digital Presentation: submit a 5 minute digital presentation representing aspects of the project including snippets of digital media.
Then on Sunday June 9 during the Awards Ceremony it was announced that the winners in the International Champions in Human Service Division of the Junior Community Problem Solving Competition, were the Bully Buddies of Australia.
“This,” said Mrs. Green “was a wonderful result for dedicated passionate and hardworking students.”
To confront such a major problem is in itself worthy of praise, but to do so at such a young age and receive international recognition, speaks volumes for not only the boys, but also their parents, teachers and the college itself. Now let them tell us, (in part), in their own words, their response, and above all their feelings.
Luca Dadzio: “Bully Buddies has been one of the greatest experiences of my life; it has been awesome to work with my friends and coming up with ways to prevent bullying. It is great knowing that we have spread our message across our school and community. It is amazing to know that we have made a difference in our school. Being able to go to America, to represent our country and present our ideas to the world, and of course winning, has been such a great honor for me and my team.”
CharlIe Fraser: “Before I became a Bully Buddy I was just a regular kid who liked playing AFL and cricket. It wasn’t until my teacher, Mrs Green, asked myself, along with some other kids, if we wanted to participate in a competition about solving modern day problems that I began to have an interest in the Bully Buddies program. Bully Buddies has meant so much to me because you know you are helping kids who are being bullied and bit by bit solving the problem of bullying.”
Xavier Hargeaves: “I really enjoyed working on this project, it is amazing to see the changes we made in the primary school and watch the students take our programs with wide smiles. It is wonderful to have recognition, all the way over the other side of the world. I appreciate the hard work and commitment given by our coach Mrs Green and the assistance from St Andrews and the Sunshine Council in getting us there. In years to come, I will always remember this experience.”
Lachy Sandford-Bell: “The Bully Buddies program lets me connect with the students of St Andrews and allows me to spread the consequences of bullying world- wide. Being a part of this journey has changed me as a person. I have made more friends, became more confident in what I do, but importantly I have gotten the opportunity to change my school, my community and my country. The international finals, was an amazing experience because it allowed me to meet new people from countries around the world.”
To address a problem of such magnitude and successfully spread the word beyond the seas should be acknowledged. So to Luca, Charlie, Xavier and Lachy, take a bow gentleman, you have done your country proud.
