The Halton Regional Police Service, Halton Region, Halton District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board recognize the profound impact and long-term effects bullying can have on our youth, their families and friends. As such, they united to develop a multi-faceted Give Respect, Get Respect - Join the Movement bullying awareness and prevention campaign that began in November 2010 and continues this year.

Elementary (grades 6-8) and high school students in Halton Region are challenged to develop messages that address bullying and that will become part of a friendly competition using various media such as technical studies and the general arts.

The focus of this year's campaign is the power of students to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying.

Each school board is responsible for selecting its final submissions which will, in turn, be presented to a judging panel comprised of police, school board officials and youth. The top four finalists will be invited to a red carpet gala event on April 24 at Cineplex Theatre (Wyecroft/Burloak) to unveil the winning entry.

Keynote speakers at the gala event have all had to deal with bullying on a personal level:

Duane Gibson - Stay Driven. Duane is a motivational speaker and Guinness World Record-setting rapper.

Jasmine Richards - Disney Actor. Jasmine is a singer/songwriter and Anti-Bully Advocate.

Prizes:

Prizing for this year's challenge is as follows:

1st - $1,500
2nd - $1,000
3rd - $500

The winning recipients must use their prize money toward promoting a safe and inclusive school environment. The winning teams' suggestions and input will be taken into consideration as long as it falls within the set parameters.

Final approval must be given by the school administration and the campaign committee.

The winning submissions may form part of an ongoing campaign to reduce bullying.

2010-2011 Winners:

Click here to view three of the four award-winning 2010-2011 challenge submissions.

Bullying Awareness Poster
Bullying Awareness Calendar
Bullying Awareness Video 

Watch for last year's winning entries in movie theatres, on YouTube, on buses and in schools throughout Halton Region.

Check this out: Catch a flick with a friend at the Galaxy Theatre in Milton (November 18-24) or Encore Theatres in Burlington and Oakville (December 26 - January 2) and see the Bullying Awareness Video on the big screen. Yours could be next.

And this: A PDF copy of Public Address announcements played in Halton Region schools in November 2011 as part of National Anti-Bullying Week.

Contest Rules:

Deadline: The entry deadline is 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 2, 2012 at Halton Regional Police Service Headquarters - front desk (1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, ON). Submissions should be marked to the attention of Cst. Mike Dinsmore. Electronic entries should be sent to:

Click here to download the Submission Form. It must be completed and must accompany the entry when it is submitted.

All elementary (grades 6-8) and high school students in Halton Region are eligible.

Each high school will select its best submission to be put forth in the competition.

For elementary schools, each board will select its top five submissions for entry.

Final winners will be chosen by a panel consisting of youth, school officials, police, Halton Region representatives and community members.

Who can submit an entry?

• Classes
• Groups/Clubs
• Individuals

Contest Guidelines and Logos:

Click here to download a PDF version of the Contest Guidelines.

Logo Downloads:

Halton Regional Police Service
Halton Region
Halton District School Board
Halton Catholic District School Board

This year’s focus is on the power of students to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying.

Note: The purpose of this challenge it to engage all youth to participate in bullying awareness strategies so we ask that each school encourage a school based challenge to “all eligible youth” prior to selecting their top pick.

Criteria for the Final Product:

1. This year we would like you to answer the following question:

What can students do to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying?
i.e. focus on positive actions, behaviours, attitudes and strategies.

2. The message must be powerful, positive, concise, and clearly communicated.
3. Does not use any swearing, homophobic, racist, sexist or otherwise inappropriate language.*
4. Language, graphics and content are not oppressive nor marginalizing in their impact upon audiences.
5. The medium and format captures the target audience.

*NOTE: Winning entries will be endorsed by Halton District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board, Halton Region and Halton Regional Police Service, and will be displayed in public settings (e.g., the transit system, movie theatres and other public venues). Entries must not include inappropriate language or attitudes, even for the purposes of dramatization. Only entries that meet all of the above success criteria will be considered by the judging panel.

Final Product Formats:

The final product may take the form of any of the following:

Technical Studies (AV, computer graphic, video or other technical form)

1. Prepare a short video with a message answering the question: “What can students do to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying?”
2. The video must be 3 min. or less.
3. Must contain the Halton Regional Police Logo, Halton District School Board Logo and the Halton Catholic District School Board Logo and Halton Region Logo.
4. The video must be generic to Halton Region; no specific school names.
5. Video must be in AVI or WMV format.
6. Must be submitted on CD.

Arts (play, scene, skit, original musical composition or other dramatic form)

1. Prepare a short play, scene, or skit, or original musical composition answering the question: “What can students do to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying?”
2. Must be 3 min. or less.
3. Must contain the Halton Regional Police Logo, Halton District School Board Logo and the Halton Catholic District School Board Logo and Halton Region Logo.
4. The play/scene/skit must be generic to Halton Region; no specific school names.
5. Must be recorded onto digital format for judging purposes.
6. Video must be in AVI or WMV format.
7. Must be submitted on CD.

General Arts (poster, original painting or other visual presentation format)

1. Prepare a poster or artwork with a message answering the question: “What can students do to create a respectful positive environment to prevent bullying?”
2. Must contain the Halton Regional Police Logo, Halton District School Board Logo and the Halton Catholic District School Board Logo and Halton Region Logo.
3. Must be generic to Halton Region, no specific school names.
4. High-resolution electronic version must be submitted. [ i.e. 600 dpi resolution is recommended for future advertising purposes however not essential.

Entries must meet all of the above criteria to be considered. Thank you for your co-operation.

For more information, contact:

Staff Sergeant Rob Lloyd
905-825-4747 ext. 4705