Quote of the Week: “Heroes are not braver than anyone else. They’re just braver 5 minutes longer.” ~ Ronald Reagan
Coordinator’s Message: October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and as you know, we started the school year discussing the expectations we have for students as members of our learning community at our CORE Character and Community Consciousness (C4) Summit. These lessons, however, continue, so in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, I wanted to share a story with you from a few years ago. Rebecca Sedwick was a 12-year old girl from Florida that committed suicide after being bullied by two (and perhaps more) of her classmates online. When this story was in the news, I was deeply saddened, but the part of the story that turned my stomach was when the bullies posted on their Facebook pages, “Yes I [know] I bullied REBECCA and she killed herself but IDGAF.” My sadness quickly turned to anger, bordering on rage when I imagined my Olivia or Joshua or even my students being tormented by bullies. But angry at whom? The 12 and 14-year old bullies of Rebecca, after all they did it; their parents, after all they raised them; the school, after all, didn’t they know what was happening?; Rebecca’s parents, didn’t they know what was happening; the media for sensationalizing violence and insensitivity; society for encouraging competition among women (the bullying began over a boy they both liked); or myself for not doing more to educate students about the responsibility that comes with the privilege of using social media? There is a lot of blame to go around. But what can we do?
1) Educate ourselves. Cyber bullying can take many forms:
- Sending mean messages or threats to a person’s email account or cell phone
- Spreading rumors online or through texts
- Posting hurtful or threatening messages on social networking sites or web pages
- Stealing a person’s account information to break into their account and send damaging messages
- Pretending to be someone else online to hurt another person
- Taking unflattering pictures of a person and spreading them through cell phones or the Internet
- Circulating sexually suggestive pictures or messages about a person
2) Know the victims. Here are some statistics:
- Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.
- More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online.
- Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet.
- Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs.
- In a 2005 survey about gay bullying statistics, teens reported that the number two reason they are bullied is because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression. The number one reason reported was because of appearance.
- 9 out of 10 LGBT teens have reported being bullied at school within the past year because of their sexual orientation, and they 30 percent more likely to attempt suicide.
3) Be forewarned.
Aside from the fact that ridiculing and threatening others is just plain wrong, what you post on social media outlets is NOT private, it lives forever in cyberspace, and can follow you until the end of your days! Colleges, universities, and employers can find you via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what kind of person you really are (which is a contradiction in terms, I know). You will change and grow and mature, but you will be reminded daily and often of the mistakes you published for the world, or just for your 1000 “friends” to see.
4) Know where to turn.
- If you are the victim of bullying, please don’t wait to get help. Talk to an adult immediately. Don’t be discouraged from seeking help thinking that things will just get worse if you “snitch.” BULLIES NEED TO BE CONFRONTED, and with the support of adults and immediate intervention, the behavior will stop!
- If you know someone who is being bullied, don’t be a bystander. You may not feel comfortable speaking up at the moment, but there is still plenty that you can do, namely, get help from an adult.
- If you are a bully or participating in bully behaviors, usually these behaviors come out of a need that is not being met, and we can help you too. But please know that we have a zero-indifference, zero-tolerance policy for any behaviors that make students feel unsafe, and there will be consequences, so come to me or any one of the CORE teachers before it’s too late.
CORE is a learning community, and as members of that community, we have a responsibility to look out for one another. PERIOD. Here are two resources for more information: https://cyberbullying.us/ and https://www.stopbullying.gov/
Early Dismissal Alert!: The next Early Dismissal Tuesday is October 16th. The school day ends at 1:34 PM. Please plan accordingly.
COREBAY 2.0: Take some time to check out Corebaby 2.0, a mobile adaptive site, loaded with information and celebration of our collective success. Take a tour through the CORE Museum, send your parents to the CHMPA parent portal, view our social media feeds, go to our Faculty Directory to see all of your amazing teachers, and read this week’s Coordinator’s COREner 🙂 If you have suggestions or see typos (I hate typos) or broken links, please email me at jmacon@corebaby.org.
Rock the Vote: If you are 16 years old, you can pre-register to vote! Go to https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/pre-register-16-vote-18/ If you are 18, VOTE on November 6th and every election there after. People fought and died for the right to vote…don’t take that right for granted!
Calling All Performers: The Music Center is hosting a series of classes for high school students in the arts called, Spotlight. Spotlight is a nationally-acclaimed scholarship and arts training program for high school students in the performing and visual arts. It is free to apply. Cleveland students have won this contest! Go to https://www.musiccenter.org/education/Students-at-the-Center/Spotlight/ for more information and to apply to this fantastic program. The deadline to submit is October 15th.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COLLEGE TOUR: We will be driving up the coast of California for our fourth annual Northern California College Trip on November 18-20th to visit UCSB, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, San Francisco University, and Sonoma St. The cost of the trip is $350 and is due along with the Registration and Liability forms. You can bring the money and forms to the Magnet Office beginning at Nutrition on October 15th. Make checks payable to “Cleveland Humanities MPA” and denote in the memo line the student’s name and “College Trip.” Forms can be found in your email inbox. This is a trip for seniors and juniors ONLY, and will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, until we reach 50 students. After we reach 50 students, there will be a wait-list. If we get to 80 students, we will be able to add a second bus. There will also be a school/teacher recommendation form that must be completed by Friday, 10/19 or you go to the end of the Wait-List.
The Writer’s Block: Did you know we have a literary magazine on campus called The Writer’s Block? They meet Tuesday at lunch in F5. The editors are currently taking submissions of short stories, fan fiction, screenplays, essays, poetry, rants, comics, drawing, and photography. Submit your work to thewritersblockcleveland@gmail.com.
Lunch Applications: In order to attend CORE field trips, you MUST complete a Title I lunch application. Even if you don’t think you will qualify or don’t want to receive tickets, you still must complete an application. We suggest completing it online, if you haven’t already. Click HERE for instructions. Print your confirmation form and bring it to the Magnet Office.
Magnet Parents Association: SPREAD THE WORD…The next MPA meeting is Wednesday, October 24th at 7:00 p.m. in the Library. Please encourage your parents to stay “in the loop” and attend this very important meeting. All parents welcome!
Magnet Tours: Magnet Tours will be taking place this week! Please be on your best behavior, keep the halls and outer areas clean, and show our prospective freshmen that “there is no place like CORE!”
COREdinators: Our next meeting will be held Friday, October 19th in E10. See you there!
Tutoring Available: The Boys and Girls Club of the West Valley is offering free tutoring Monday-Thursday in our school library from 3:00-5:00 pm. They also offer college admissions workshops. One of the tutors is a CORE alumnus. Come to the Magnet Office to register.
Counselor Info: If your last name begins with A-K grades 9-12, your counselor is Ms. Howe. If your last name begins L-Z, grades 9-12 your counselor is Mr. Wasserman.
Stay Connected: Follow us on Instagram @chscore and Facebook @clevelandhumanitiesmagnet.
COREture: Don’t forget to get your COREture– T-shirts, sweatshirts, lanyards, waterbottles, pens, and flash drives all at great prices! All proceeds go to the program!
Book Bundles: There are still Book Bundles available for 11th and 12th grades. Having your own copy of the books we are using is an invaluable tool and all proceeds go back to the program. Come to the Magnet Office for an order form.
Corebaby Email: Be sure to check your Corebaby email address EVERYDAY for important updates! If you use another email address as your primary email address, you can forward your Corebaby emails to that address so that you don’t miss anything! See Mr. Saavedra if you have questions.
Forgot Your Corebaby Email Password?: You can retrieve it, but it will cost you a dollar. Go to Mr. Saavedra in E7 for information, but don’t go empty handed.
Cavalier News: Have you visited Cleveland’s website? Go to www.clevelandhs.org to check it and get important schoolwide info!
Important College News for All: Have you visited the Career and College Office website? It is an incredibly useful resource as you begin the college admissions journey in the ninth grade. Be sure to bookmark the calendar as there are important dates to note. Go to https://www.careerandcollegeoffice.org/ to check it out.
Clean Up After Yourselves: Please do your part to keep our learning environment and other areas on campus clean. Pick up your trash, recycle where possible, and remind your friends to do the same! I do not want see your trash left on the floors for someone else to clean up. Thank you!
Got Suggestions???: As we begin the 2018-2019 school year, we want to hear from you! What suggestions do have for improving the program? Go to the Home Page and click the icon to submit your suggestions.
(Coordinator’s Corner last updated October 13, 2018 @ 9:00 AM by Ms. Macon)