Posted Friday January 13, 2012

Fourth graders at East Side Elementary took a break from the traditional classroom work. Instead they spent their day in the gym. Not for physical education but to learn how to beat bullying.

Steve Rebin is the school's counselor. He says bullying continues to be a problem and if it isn't addressed now it's something that can have long lasting affects.

" We as adults we remember the things that happened to us as kids and if we were told to brush it under the carpet or sweep it under the carpet we still have that. "

Friday the kids participated in what's known as a Kindness Retreat.
The retreat was organized by Youth Frontier, a non-profit organization out of Minneapolis.

After getting to know the kids they were broken into smaller groups and they came up with ways to combat bullying.

It's this process that Youth Frontiers says is critical in the fight against bullying.

" They're the ones who see the rumors and gossip, the people being left out of stuff, the name calling, the disrespect to teachers and people who aren't playing fair in recess or by the rules, " says Rita Boersma.

High school students and community members volunteered during Friday's retreat.

They served as examples for the kids and some even learned a thing or two themselves.

Friday's retreat was partially funded by donations. They'd like to do another retreat next year. If you'd like to donate you can contact the Sun Prairie Rotary Club.