"Yak Attack: The cyber bullying needs to stop", 
THE GLEN BARD, GWHS student newspaper
(reprinted with permission)
Link to pdf of the article

Wondering about YikYak?  Learn more here:

Cyberbulling Research Center on Yik Yak
Posted by Justin W. Patchin 

 http://cyberbullying.us/yik-yak/

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US AT OUR GPS EVENTS! 

As a bonus, dine at any of these excellent Glen Ellyn restaurants- Fire and Wine, Bistro Monet, Shannon's Irish Pub and Tap House Grill- on the night of a GPS event, and enjoy exciting special offers. Offers valid night of the event only.  Proof of attendance required.

PEC: The Parent Education Consortium of the North Shore


PEC Sept. calendar for the 2014-15 academic year is posted here for your information. Note that the Glenbard Parent Series program are always included.  Feel free to attend these attached events  as your interest and schedule permits.

The Parent Education Consortium of the North Shore (PEC) is a centralized source of information on parent resources and programs that promote stronger schools, family and community life. PEC is comprised of representatives from the community and parent/teacher organizations who offer programming on parenting topics through joint planning and shared resources. The Calendar of educational programs for parents and educators is compiled from submissions provided by the sponsoring organizations.


PEC events September through May,

The PEC website, www.peccalendar.org, is a relational database -- you can search by date, speaker, topic, venue, etc.

Editor's Choice for September, 2014 (see Calendar for full details):

1) FAN starts off fast with two super programs in September: Jennifer Senior, New York Times best-selling author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, on September 19, at New Trier HS/Northfield; and Harvard's Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Ed.D., speaking on her classic text, The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other, on September 30 at Evanston Township HS.

2) Michael Thompson, Ph.D. fans will be happy to know that he is doing three events on September 16 for the Glenbard school system. Just plan on spending the day out there!

3) Stanford's Marianne Cooper, Ph.D. will talk on September 17, a distillation of her powerful research for her new book Cut Adrift: Families in Insecure Times. Sponsored by The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, and held at the University Club in Chicago.

4) FANfare 2014 speaker Carrie Goldman will draw distinctions between bullying and social conflict in a talk at St. Joseph School in Wilmette on September 17, sponsored by their school board and PSO.

Don't miss three special events by Dr. Michael Thompson:

“How to Raise Responsible and Confident Teens “

Tuesday, Sept 16

7:00 p.m.

Glenbard South Auditorium

“The Pressured Student: Adolescence is Hard Work”

Tuesday, Sept 16

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

District #15 Marquardt Administration Center

“Coming to Grips with Girl Overachievement and (Relative) Boy Underachievement“

Tuesday, Sept 16

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Glenbard West Library

Dr. Michael Thompson is a superstar among elite parent - speakers and the author of several New York Times best selling books including Rising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, Best Friends/Worst Enemies:  Understanding the Social Worlds of Children and the Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Achieve Success in School and in Life. An international consultant and highly sought after speaker specializing in children and families, Dr. Thompson has made numerous appearances on the Today Show, the Oprah Show, and CBS’ 60 Minutes.

In these important GPS programs, participants will discover strategies for successful communication, and the proven methods of parenting that produce the most competent teens. Follow the psychological journey that children experience as they negotiate and manage their school careers, and learn how the wisest adults can best help them on their way.

CALL HIM ISHMAEL AND

CALL HIM A SURVIVOR

            Ishmael Beah has more in common with the main character of Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick than simply his name. He is a survivor. And he has encountered pure evil.

            On August 27^th attendance records for the Glenbard Parent Series were broken when almost 1,300 people attended Beah’s presentation at Glenbard West High School to hear him speak on his experiences as a thirteen year old forced to serve in the military during the bloody civil war in Sierra Leone. His experiences became the basis of his celebrated book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

            For almost three years Beah was forced to serve in his government’s army. He and boys like him were manipulated with drugs and violence to fight. He was forced to commit unspeakable acts or risk certain death.

            Luckily, Beah was rescued by UNICEF and taken to a rehabilitation center where he got the help he needed to be de-programed from the violent behavior he’d come to know. He made his way to the United States and through his extraordinary circumstances was adopted and eventually graduated from Oberlin College.

            Beah has been named a special UNICEF Ambassador and spoken before the United Nations and the Council on Foreign Relations. As a writer and frequent speaker, Beah’s wants the Western world to understand the “humanity behind the war.”

            Beah often uses humor to soften the darkness of his subject matter. He quipped that while in college he could often sit for ten to twelve hours reading without moving. This is a skill he learned after having to silently crouch in the brush for that many hours waiting to ambush.  

            Primarily, Beah wants young people to understand that even under the worst conditions imaginable, “there is strength in the human spirit.”  He also wants them to know that it is wrong to glamorize violence the way Hollywood does.

            In reality, those who experience violence get caught up in it and then perpetuate it resulting in a vicious cycle that is hard to break. “Once violence starts, there is a consequence to it. It starts with words and is psychological.”

            Beah returns often to Sierra Leone and is committed to helping break the cycle.

By Suzanne Burdett – Glenbard parent