STICKS & STONES Yrs 7 - 11

RESILIENCE & ANTI BULLYING PROGRAM

This Program is:

A LIVE PERFORMANCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT EXPLORES RESILIENCE, RESPECT, ANTI BULLYING AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION. SUPPORTED BY A Q&A AND CURRICULUM-ALIGNED CLASSROOM RESOURCES.

This engaging theatre in education program for high school students addresses bullying, harassment and aggression at school, at home and online. Two energetic performers explore the influence of peers, family, social media, YouTube and video games on attitudes and behaviour. They demonstrate the role of the fight/flight response and how this energy can be channeled into positive pursuits.

This award winning show shines a light on issues such as cyberbullying, image based abuse and coercive control. It provides students with practical strategies for emotion regulation, assertiveness, conflict resolution, resilience, help-seeking and breaking the cycle of violence. The performance also highlights the importance of positive role models and providing space for all students to express their feelings in healthy and authentic ways.

Sticks & Stones is designed to complement your school’s existing student wellbeing programs and facilitate further learning and discussion in the classroom.

Brainstorm Productions is listed as an evidence-based program on the Victorian Schools Mental Health Menu. Victorian Government schools can use their funding to purchase our program at no cost to students. Brainstorm is also endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider.

Brainstorm's "Sticks & Stones" performance was a well-paced, thought-provoking and accurately pitched exploration of themes relevant to our school context. Students were buzzing with excitement after the show and it was evident from their behaviour and comments that they had reflected on the messages in the show. We are looking forwarding to incorporating the teacher resources into our Pastoral Care program and engaging Brainstorm Productions for years to come. Five stars.

A fantastic production. I was impressed at how well the actors engaged all of our students and in how they could see live scripts of what it looks like to talk about, stand up to and understand bullying and DV. Engaged our students incredibly well with highly relevant issues. So good to see this done in performance and production rather than PowerPoint Presentation with videos. Highly recommended!

The presentation today was outstanding! Excellent performance. All students were engaged and enjoyed the program. A fantastic conversation was had after the presentation also. Captured all students' attention for the entire time. With follow-up lessons students will acknowledge behaviours and seek help if needed. The actors were excellent and friendly. Highly recommended. Five stars!

Five stars. Topical and engaging...really hit home to our girls. Supports our Pastoral Care program – personal development, respect, dangers of social media use and abuse. Q&A handled very well. Great role models, very professional. We found all activities useful, including the anger thermometer. Girls loved it. Highly recommended!

Really good and enjoyable, Would 100% watch other shows. Great actors! Such a good show and super inspirational. Made us feel as though we shouldn't hide our emotions and we should speak up when in need. Thank you! Five stars.

An engaging and relevant performance that the students enjoyed. The topics were covered in a way that connected with the students and helped them see a message we have often tackled at school in such a powerful performance piece. Many of the girls approached me after and expressed how fantastic it was. Five stars.

Thank you, Brainstorm Productions for delivering an educational, insightful and entertaining performance for our students! Aligns with our school's STRIVE Program well, as it empowers students to reflect on their emotions and decision making. Significant issues presented in the performance were handled delicately by the actors. Five stars.

Brainstorm take the risk to confront, observe and guide a process for students to engage with respectfully, allowing for questions to be raised and consider as well as an openness to healthy choices and natural consequences to those choices. I would recommend them for every school. Well done. Five stars.

Absolutely wonderful show! Relates to teenagers who are struggling and think they are alone. Provides insight and tools on how to help. Aligns well with HPE curriculum. Accurate depiction of the challenges facing young boys in todays world. Five stars.

Excellent content. High quality and engaging for our middle school students. The conversations had at the end of the performance and in the weeks that followed were very valuable. Five stars.

Very Professional. Actors were completely in character and very believable. When bravado and rough play seem to escalate in Yr 8, I think this will give insight into where this comes from and how to deal with it. Relevant and confronting sometimes - Yr 8 is full of big emotions, so it was good. Highly recommended. Five stars!

Relatable and interactive, engaging and relevant! Supports our school values in mental health as well as our school motto - safe, responsible and respectful. We would recommend this production to other schools. It was relevant and informative.

The performance explored a diverse range of topical issues that were age and stage appropriate. Whilst the topics are heavy and serious in nature, they were unpacked well by the actors. The performance covered a range of key aspects - bullying, harassment, phone use, app use, legalities etc. Highly recommended 10/10!

Students immersed and engaged in the performance. Realistic dialogue and scenarios, well constructed storyline and powerful sound recordings. Empowered students to reflect on their behaviour. Great solutions and techniques to resolve disputes, manage anger and interact in a positive way. Made them aware of sexual harassment and domestic violence. Supports our Student Wellbeing Program: compassion, resilience, respect and responsibility and empathy. 10/10

Students 100% focused and keen to be involved. Relatable scenarios which were provocative yet appropriate. Covered a range of themes facing our youth: aggression, violence, friendship, sexual harassment, privacy and wellbeing. 10/10

Contemporary performance gave students a number of strategies to cope with conflict and deal with social and family problems in a proactive rather than reactive manner. They gained and understanding of the implications of bullying and domestic violence. 10/10

The performance addressed ‘image based abuse’, the law, consequences and domestic violence. Related to the different emotions and the ways to channel their energy, talking about feelings and getting involved in sport and other positive activities. Very useful Q&A and support material. 10/10

Highly engaging! Energetic committed young actors that were very capable of running the reflection, answering students questions and encouraging student responses. So amazing! Showed that the students had learnt real skills and strategies to deal with bullying and address their own behaviour. Supports our Health and Student Wellbeing Program and Respectful Relationships. 10/10

Audience was completely engrossed! This highly entertaining theatre performance will definitely help students make positive changes in their lives. Talented young actors modelled essential skills of self regulation, co-regulation and how to be resilient and stand up for yourself and others in a positive way. Very rewarding to see our students engaging, interacting and asking questions. Supports our Student Wellbeing Program and anti bullying Program, Code of Conduct and Respectful Relationships. 10/10

Dynamic and relevant! Covered: qualities of a good friend, abusive relationships, bullying, family violence, gender stereotypes, homophobia, anger management, sexual harassment and respect. Super professional self sufficient young actors. Highly recommended! 10/10

Pertinent important messages for our cohort. They could see aspects of their own life experiences and were able to identify right from wrong. Gave them strategies for dealing with anger and bullying. They were impressed and said it was ‘Thought provoking’. Young male actors were skilled and exemplary role models. Supports our Health and Student Wellbeing Program and Resilience Project. 10/10

Informative, professional, relatable with clear messages about real life issues: bullying, peer pressure, wellbeing and cyber safety. 10/10

Highly recommended! Content was realistic, entertaining and relevant: friendship, family violence, respect for women and bullying and where to receive help. Students could observe credible positive changes in the behaviour of a students relationships with their peers, a staff member, parents and themselves. 10/10

Awesome! Students couldn’t take their eyes off the actors and responded powerfully to seeing these ideas played out in public: harassment, violence and bad behaviour. Great physical theatre, acting and Q&A. Modelled incredibly positive responses. Showed logical explanations of why people behave badly and strategies to deal with negative behaviour, anger and difficult emotions. 10/10

Seamless entertaining performance. High energy, relevant for students to reflect on their own behaviour and how they treat others and give them confidence dealing with inappropriate behaviour. Excellent Q&A Supports our Pastoral Care and Student Wellbeing program: bullying, conflict resolution, relationships, cyber safety and dealing with stress. 10/10

Performance covered relevant issues and effectively highlighted the links between relationships, emotions and outcomes. The breathing element was practical and appropriate. The young male actors showed strength that we hope our students will emulate. Supports our Student Wellbeing Program. Teachers Resource pack is perfect for follow up lessons. 10/10

Brilliant! Informative, relevant and resonated with the students. The messages and experiences will certainly impact their decisions in the future: cyber safety and building positive relationships. 10/10

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Each high school program includes:

A 50 minute live theatre performance, with themes and outcomes aligned with the curriculum and key wellbeing, bullying and cyber safety frameworks. The actors are young, professional performers who are positive role models for your students.
A 5-10 minute discussion with the students, in which key themes and practical strategies are explored and help-seeking information is provided. Students also have the opportunity to ask the actors questions.
A Teacher Resource Pack, containing:
- Pre-performance resources, including permission slip, newsletter insert, promotional tools, compliance documents and everything else you need to prepare for the day.
- Curriculum-aligned classroom resources, including lesson plans, discussion points, extension activities, worksheets and online resources.
- Printable A3 colour posters to promote the show.
Full support from our Booking Coordinators, who are available from 8am to 5pm weekdays to guide you through the process and answer any questions you may have.

The STICKS AND STONES Years 7-11 RESILIENCE & ANTI BULLYING Program Covers:

Australian Curriculum v9.0:

General Capabilities: Digital Literacy, Personal & Social Capability, Ethical Understanding, Critical & Creative Thinking, Intercultural Understanding, ICT Capability, Literacy.
HPE
The Arts
English
Digital Technologies
Curriculum Connections: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Online Safety & Respect Matters.

NSW: PDHPE, Creative Arts, English.

VIC: Drama, Critical & Creative Thinking, English, Ethical Capability, HPE, Civics & Citizenship, Intercultural Capability, Personal & Social Capability, Digital Technologies.

Also supports: The Australian Student Wellbeing Framework, Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education, eSafety Toolkit for Schools, The National Education Initiative (Be You), National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools & Pastoral Care. Supports Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), eSmart Schools, and other programs that promote student wellbeing, anti bullying, behaviour management, resilience, cyber safety, mental health and positive relationships in schools.

What sort of venue do we need?

An indoor venue with access to electricity. There is no need for any special theatre style venue as the show works best in an open space, with students seated on the floor. A school hall or gym is ideal but we can also use triple classroom areas, libraries etc. Unfortunately due to WHS we cannot use outdoor areas. If you have an unusual venue and would like to discuss it with us please contact our team on 1800 676 224.

A layout diagram is provided for each performance, showing how the actors will set up and how students will be seated. Download the layout diagram for this performance here.

What is the cost and how does the minimum fee structure work?

Our maximum audience size for this performance is 250. The cost is $8.50 per student (+GST) with a minimum fee of $935 (+GST) applying when less than 110 students attend. Our office will email you a tax invoice after the show, based on the number of students that attended.

PLEASE NOTE: The 2024 pricing structure is reduced for schools using the Victorian Schools Mental Health Fund.

What provisions do you have in place for supporting child safety and wellbeing?

We are a Child Safe Organisation and comply with all aspects of Child Protection and screening in each state and territory. We have Risk Assessments in place and all our actors are trained in WHS, appropriate behaviour in schools, dealing with student disclosures and providing appropriate help-seeking information. Scripts have been researched and developed in consultation with teachers and a Clinical Psychologist.

What will the actors need on the day?

The actors will arrive one hour and fifteen minutes before the performance time to sign in and access the venue. The shows are performed on the floor (preferably NOT a stage), no chairs please. They have all their own equipment.

For more information please go to our FAQ page, or call us on:

Please note: this performance contains references to parental separation, domestic abuse, sexual harassment and unsafe online interactions. Teachers please contact us to discuss if you have any concerns about this content. All mental health references are followed up with relevant help-seeking information and are informed by Mindframe’s guidelines for portraying mental ill-health on stage and screen.

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PO Box 804,
Alstonville NSW 2477

ABN: 17 088 834 637

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Our head office is located on Bundjalung Land. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we operate and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and future, and acknowledge the contributions and unique storytelling traditions of the oldest living culture in the world.

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