Safety Week
Upstander ≠ Bystander
Spring Safety Week — From April 8th to 12th, 2024
Have you heard about the phenomenon we call "March Madness"? This "madness" is a statistical reality that refers to an increase of negative behaviours among our youth. You have the power to impact any situation positively. Be part of a community that prioritizes safety in all aspects of life!
MYTH:
When witnessing bullying, harassment, abuse, or someone stressed out, you should refrain from interfering with the situation.
FACT:
Safety is always first! There are ways to support people in distress. Scouters, remember what you have learned from the Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders training. We encourage you to share it with your groups. Submitting incident reports won't get you into trouble. You’ll be helping strengthen the culture of safety.
During Safety Week, we will offer you tools that will help Scouts learn to be more mindful of their and other people's emotions, and actions, which will promote more harmony and empathy within groups.
Our new partnership with Busy Minds Ed. emphasizes the importance of mental well-being through activities such as meditation, yoga, and mindfulness. Please explore and use the following resources:
- Guided Meditation and Gratitude Journal
- My safe, happy place (Beavers)
- The 5 Minute Gratitude Journal (Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, and Rovers)
Let us know on social media how this worked for you! Share your pictures using #safetyweek2024
Scouter Ken and Scouter Mike are joined by Michelle Faber, the founder of Busy Minds, for a live discussion on mindfulness, its importance to mental health, and the ways in which Scouts Canada is partnering with Busy Minds to add mindfulness exercises into group programming.
Bullied Brain: Jennifer Fraser's presentation focuses on bullying and aggressive behaviours as connected to brains that are stressed. She looks at this negative conduct from a medical, rather than a moral perspective and factors in brain science to implement evidence-based ways to remedy it.
