SACSC Resources
Supporting a Safe and Caring School

This program helps build a SACS culture. It includes information about SACS, an assessment tool to aid in planning and quick, easy-to-read booklets that review current research on SACS topics and successful programs. Some of the resources are currently available online to download, the rest can be purchased for the cost of printing from the Learning Resources Centre. For more information please scroll to the bottom of the page.

SACSC School Culture Building Resources

SACSC Information Booklets

• Bullying Prevention Series
  (and Bullying Overview Presentation)
• Respecting Diversity Series

SACSC Student Survey Instrument

SACSC Assembly Scripts

SACSC School Culture Building Resources

• Safe and Caring Schools in Alberta Presentation (LRC #455297)
  Video, overheads and 30 brochures.
• The ATA's Safe and Caring Schools Project: An Overview (K-12) (LRC #445298)
  This brochure describes the origin and objectives of the project.
  Sold in packages of 30.
• Attributes of a Safe and Caring School (K-12) (LRC#445313)
  A brochure for elementary, junior and senior high schools, describing the characteristics of a safe and caring school. Sold in packages of 30.
• Niska News (K-12) (LRC #445529)
  A collection of articles about SACS reprinted from The ATA News.
• Principals' Best (K-12) (LRC #445545)
  Describes activities that various schools in the province have undertaken to create a safe and caring environment for students.
• Volunteer Mentorship Program: (K-12) (LRC #445602)
  A video that portrays programs in which adults from the community work with children to help them develop various skills. 9 ½ minutes
• Volunteer Mentorship Program: A Practical Handbook (K-12) (LRC #445595)
  Explains how to set up programs in which adults serve as mentors to school-aged children (plus a disk containing sample documents used in the program)
  NOTE: There is also a Volunteer Mentorship Programs: (K-12) information booklet available (See SACSC Information Booklets)
• SACSC series of 6 full-color posters (LRC #444836)
  A series of six, full-color posters highlighting the Project's key concepts.
• The ATA/SACSC Safe Spaces materials are available as .PDF files that can be downloaded and printed in colour.
  ATA/SACSC Safe Spaces Poster
  ATA/SACSC Safe Spaces Brochure
  ATA/SACSC Safe Spaces Sticker
• Please click here to download the available resources from the Dealing With Homophobia: Resources for School Communities in Alberta project.
• Becoming the Change We Want to See Brochure
  This brochure outlines Becoming the Change We Want to See, the SACSC Global Education Project. It is available in a convenient easy to ready online version or a printable PDF.
• SACSC Youth Action Brochure
  This brochure (PDF) provides an overview of the SACSC Youth Action program.
  Please click here for more information about the SACSC Youth Action program

• Classroom Management: A Thinking and Caring Approach (LRC #445660)
  Written by Barrie Bennett and Peter Smilanich, this manual outlines numerous strategies that teachers can use to cope with misbehaviour in the classroom and create a learning environment that encourages student learning. Available only through the LRC. *Not published by the Society, but an asset in building safe and caring school culture.
  

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SACSC Information Booklets

• Restorative Justice—Community Classroom Conferencing (A Guide for Parents and Teachers)
  Provides an overview of restorative justice, a unique alternative to discipline that focuses on reconciliation and healing and involves the classroom or community. This booklet can be ordered through the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• SACSC Elementary Booklet Series (K-6) (LRC #445610)
  16 booklets.
• SACSC Secondary Booklet Series (7-12) (LRC #445628)
  15 booklets.
• Class Meetings for Safe and Caring Schools (K-12)(LRC #445587)
  Explains how regular class meetings can help teachers and students work out conflicts before they become major problems.
• Expecting Respect: The Peer Education Project—A School-Based Learning Model (K-12) (LRC #445462)
  Provides an overview of Expecting Respect, a project that trains junior and senior high students to make classroom presentations on establishing healthy social relationships.
• Safe and Caring Schools: Havens for the Mind (K-12) (LRC #445503)
  Reviews the role of SACS in healthy brain development and learning.
• Media Violence: The Children Are Watching —A Guide for Parents and Teachers (K-12) (LRC #445511)
  Contains tips for parents and teachers in countering the effects on children of media violence.
• Peer Support and Student Leadership Programs (K-12) (LRC #445561)
  Describes a number of programs that have been used successfully at various grade levels to encourage students to help their fellow students.
• Volunteer Mentorship Programs: (K-12) (LRC #445579)
  Describes a number of successful programs in which adult volunteers were assigned to serve as mentors to school-aged children.
• Learning to Care through Kindness to Animals—A Guide for Teachers
  Research demonstrates that children who are cruel to animals have a greater chance of engaging in violent behaviour towards other people. This guide is designed to help teachers integrate human education into the curriculum in order to encourage positive relationships with all living beings. The booklet includes activities, lesson plans, and a list of additional resources.
  Hard copies are available by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools in a Complex World
  Over the last few decades, many researchers in the humanities and the sciences have taken up the notion of “complexity” or “complex systems” to explain the behaviour of human systems such as social groups, cities, and economies, as well as living systems such as cells, animals and ecosystems. This booklet discusses Complexity Research in relation to learning, bullying, and current issues in the education system and describes how to prompt complexity in lessons and activities.
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Creating Safe, Caring and Inclusive Schools for LGBTQ Students: A guide for counsellors
  The information, strategies and ethical guidelines presented in this resource are designed to help empower counsellors to strengthen a professional ethic of respect and caring, develop supports and services for LGBTQ students and to identify policy gaps or absences in school programming and services.
• Creating Safe, Caring, and Inclusive Schools for LGBTQ Students: A Guide for School District Leaders
  This easy to read guide suggests a process for creating safe environments for LGBTQ students, as well as guiding policies/legislation and resources for further inquiry.
• Building Peace from the Inside Out: A toolbox for preparing students for global citizenship
  This information booklet is designed to help teachers expand their students’ knowledge about international development and global interdependency and develop an appreciation for different worldviews. It outlines nine crucial elements for developing a global education program and making curriculum connections. This booklet also contains examples of innovative school-wide activities that staff can use to encourage active global citizenship among their students.
• Building Safe and Caring Schools through Youth Action: A guide for teachers and school staff
  This booklet provides an overview of the SACSC Youth Action program and the research behind its development. It also outlines potential topics and describes the projects that were implemented through the secondary, elementary, and aboriginal focus pilot projects.
  For information on implementing a Youth Action project in your school, please read our Youth Action brochure.

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Bullying Prevention Series

• Relational Aggression: A Guide for Parents and Teachers
  This booklet provides an overview of relational aggression, along with tips for parents and teachers and a series of stories illustrating the forms this type of bullying can take.
  Preschool Bullying: What You Can Do About It—A Guide for Parents and Caregivers (1-6) (LRC #445347)
  Advises parents on what to do if their child is being bullied or is bullying others.
• Bullying: What You Can Do About It—A Guide for Primary Level Students (K-3) (LRC #445397) Contains stories and exercises to help children deal with bullies and to stop bullying others.
• Bullying: What You Can Do About It—A Guide for Parents and Teachers of Primary Level Students (LRC #445454)
  Contains tips to help teachers and parents identify and respond to children who are involved in bullying.
• Beyond Bullying: What You Can Do About It—A Guide for Upper-Elementary Students and Their Parents (LRC #445321)
  Directed at students who are the victims, witnesses or perpetrators of bullying, and their parents.
• Bullying in Schools: What You Can Do About It —A Teacher's Guide (1-6)
  (LRC #445339) Describes strategies that teachers can follow to stop bullying in schools
• Beyond Bullying: A Booklet for Junior High Students (7-9) #445470
  Explains what students should do if they are being bullied or if they see someone else being bullied.
• Beyond Bullying: What You Can Do To Help—A Handbook for Parents and Teachers of Junior High Students (7-9) (LRC #445488)
  Defines bullying behaviors and suggests strategies that parents and teachers can follow to deal with it.
• Bullying is Everybody's Problem: Do You Have the Courage to Stop It? (10-12) (LRC #445305) Brochure
  This guide for senior high students defines bullying and provides advice on how to respond to it (1999). Sold in packages of 30.
• Bullying and Harassment: Everybody's Problem—A Senior High Staff and Parent Resource (10-12) (LRC #445496)
  Advises parents and high school teachers on how to deal with bullying.

Bullying Tips for Students/Youth
Provides strategies for young people who are being bullied or see others being bullied.

Bullying Tips for Adults
Provides strategies for adults who think child may be bullied or may be bullying others.

Bullying Overview Presentation
The Society's Bullying Overview is a PowerPoint Presentation, designed for Secondary students and older youth, that outlines violence and bullying issues and prevention. Teachers may use this presentation to discuss bullying with their students. The presentation includes:

• Definition of Violence and Bullying
• Root Causes of Bullying
• Types of Bullying
• Consequences of Bullying
• Strategies to deal with bullying situations
• Bullying Research
• Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Violence and Bullying Prevention Programming.

To view the presentation please click here.

To download the presentation package, including PowerPoint Viewer, please click here.

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Respecting Diversity Series

• Safe and Caring Schools for Aboriginal Students—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide provides teachers with suggestions on how to help students respect the unique culture of Aboriginal students. It also provides teachers with examples of how they can adapt their teaching styles to increase the success of Aboriginal students in their classes.
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools for Arab and Muslim Students—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide provides teachers with suggestions on dealing with issues that specifically affect Arab and Muslim students, basic information about Arab culture and the Muslim faith as well as strategies teachers can implement to counter the harmful effects of stereotyping and discrimination.
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools for Lesbian and Gay Youth—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide provides teachers with suggestions on how to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals in the classroom
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools for Newcomer Students—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide provides teachers with advice on creating a safe, caring and inclusive environment for students who have recently come to Canada
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools for Students of All Faiths—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide provides teachers with suggestions on how to help students respect religious diversity and appreciate each other's world views and customs.
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.
• Safe and Caring Schools for Students of All Races—A Guide for Teachers
  This guide is intended to help teachers understand the very real issues faced by students of color and Aboriginal students and to offer them some strategies for helping students deal with racism.
  Hard copy available only by calling the SACSC office at 780-447-9487.

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SACSC Student Survey Instrument

• The SACSC Student Survey provides a voice for the student body and allows schools to obtain student feedback regarding the needs and strengths of the school.
• The SACSC Survey Guidebook provides detailed information on when, why and how to administer the survey instrument and how to use the data that the survey collects. Schools compile and analyze the data to gage progress, to identify successes and areas needing the most improvement and to use in their action planning.
• The Survey Instructions document is one page long and meant to be read to students prior to survey administration. These instructions help teachers and administrators give students clear instructions for completing the surveys.

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Assembly Scripts for Elementary and Secondary School Principals

Successful implementation of safe and caring programming in the school depends heavily on the principal’s leadership. These scripts have been developed for principals to introduce each of the safe and caring topics at a school assembly. When the principal initiates each SACSC topic he/she reminds staff and students that everyone in the school needs to be working on building a safer and more caring learning environment. Since the progression of the five topics throughout the school year is the same, year after year, the principal will need to change the activities in the scripts the second and third years of implementation. After three years, the principal can return to the initial activities for another three-year rotation.

Please click on the title of the Assembly Script to download it in as a PDF.

Please click here for a printable version of this list.

Sample Assembly Scripts for Elementary Students
(Division 1 and 2)

• Elementary Assembly Script 1 - Topic 1a - Creating a Safe and Caring School
• Elementary Assembly Script 2 - Topic 1b - Respect
• Elementary Assembly Script 3 - Topic 2a - Feeling Good About Who I am
• Elementary Assembly Script 4 - Topic 2b - Building Self-Esteem In Others
• Elementary Assembly Script 5 - Topic 3a - Respecting Diversity
• Elementary Assembly Script 6 - Topic 3b - Preventing Prejudice
• Elementary Assembly Script 7 - Topic 4a - Managing Anger in Ourselves
• Elementary Assembly Script 8 - Topic 4b - Dealing With Bullying Behaviour
• Elementary Assembly Script 9 - Topic 5 - Resolving Conflicts Peacefully
• Assembly Script 10 - Celebrating our Successes - All Divisions

Sample Assembly Scripts for Secondary Students

• Secondary Assembly Script 1 - Topic 1a - Creating a Safe and Caring School
• Secondary Assembly Script 2 - Topic 1b - Respect
• Secondary Assembly Script 3 - Topic 2a - Feeling Good About Who I am
• Secondary Assembly Script 4 - Topic 2b - Building Self-Esteem In Others
• Secondary Assembly Script 5 - Topic 3a - Respecting Diversity
• Secondary Assembly Script 6 - Topic 3b - Preventing Prejudice
• Secondary Assembly Script 7 - Topic 4a - Managing Anger
• Secondary Assembly Script 8 - Topic 4b - Dealing With Bullying Behaviour
• Secondary Assembly Script 9 - Topic 5 - Resolving Conflicts Peacefully
• Assembly Script 10 - Celebrating our Successes - All Divisions

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All of the resources available to parents, students and teachers can be ordered from the Learning Resources Centre by telephoning 427-5775 in the Edmonton calling area or 310-0000 elsewhere in the province. (ask for the LRC) Orders can also be placed on-line through the Learning Resources Centre. Alberta school discounts apply.
For more information please contact the SACSC office.

The Society is continuously revising the website to include more resources and to offer additional resources to download free of charge, so keep checking in to see what's new to the SACSC resources pages!

Click here for information on the SACSC Model for Implementation

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