R U OK? Day may have wrapped for another year, but this is no reason to stop asking each other “are you okay?”. As the ‘R U OK? at School Partner’, Brainstorm Productions, is helping to inspire teenagers across Australia to start conversations that can make a real difference. Our aim is to visit over 200,000 high school students in the next 12 months and provide advice and tips on how to ask someone if they’re okay and to regularly check-in with their mates.

As the big yellow R U OK?Day Mateship Bus tours around Australia in the lead up to R U OK? Day on 11th September 2014, we asked our actors to take 5 and share what mateship means to them:

‘Are you okay?’ - 3 Little Words That Can Make a Difference

On Thursday 11th September 2014 thousands of students across Australia will participate in R U OK?Day. How? By taking the time to stop and ask the question “are you ok?” to anyone who might be struggling with life. R U OK?Day is about taking the time to discuss life’s challenges in a positive way through active listening and sensitive questioning. 

MEDIA RELEASE

Brainstorm Productions – one of Australia’s largest educational theatre production companies – has partnered with R U OK? to help more school students start regular, meaningful conversations with each other to improve youth wellbeing.

Recently we had the great pleasure of performing our cyber bullying program 'Cyberia' at Cairns State High School. The program is designed to empower students to address bullying, cyber bullying and digital responsibility through a live in-school theatre performance and curriculum-based activities.

How have 1.7 million Australian students learnt how to use effective conflict resolution, manage their anger and look at violence and bullying in a new light? From engaging with our 'Sticks & Stones K-6’ and 'Sticks & Stones Yrs 7-10’ school programs. 

Bullying is a difficult issue for schools everywhere. Research from the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics ‘Census at Schools’ survey shows that bullying is now the #1 issue for Australian school kids, and with the average weekly time schoolchildren spend on a computer jumping from 3 hours in 2006 to 13 hours in 2013, there has been a correlating increase in kids struggling and falling victim to cyber bullying. 

There is no doubt that online usage has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Social media, online shopping and mobile usage is increasing at lightning speed, especially among kids and teens. The impact of all this technology brings with it a range of new issues for young people including cyber bullying, internet safety, privacy and how to be responsible online. 

Privacy Awareness Week 2014

Cyber Bullying Programs to Help Your School 

Brainstorm Productions is a proud Privacy Awareness Week educational partner. This annual event is designed to promote awareness for privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information. Privacy continues to be a hot issue, especially for Australian school students. Research has shown that 1 in 3 young people have posted something on social media that they have later regretted.

Facebook – what’s public and what’s not?

ALERT: Facebook have changed their privacy settings again.

If you are under the age of 18 and have a Facebook account your profile isn’t automatically private anymore. In fact, if you don’t update your privacy settings, ANYONE can see ALL of your personal information ANYTIME!

‘TAKE A CHILD TO THE THEATRE TODAY’ 

March 20th is World Theatre for Children and Young People Day and the message this year is 'Take a Child to the Theatre Today'. Theatre is not only entertaining for kids, but is proven to have a positive influence on behaviour and issues relating to health, wellbeing and society. Kids are often also more receptive to these important messages because they can empathise or relate to the characters on an emotional level.

Below is a case study from Reynella Primary School in Adelaide, illustrating how they use theatre in education to support their "Successful Learners Program", which is designed to encourage a positive learning environment at the beginning of each school year. If you'd like to know more about how Brainstorm Productions can assist your school, please click here to contact one of our friendly team. 

Technology and social media is all around us and can be used to great effect, however things can easily turn and you can’t always press “undo”. Brainstorm Productions has a range of cyber bullying programs that look at the risks and impacts of the world online on the very real world of primary school and high school students.

Here at Brainstorm Productions we are all about helping teachers, parents and leaders to reach out to school age children and help them come to grips with bullying and its destructive results. 

This week marks the start of Schoolies Week for NSW and VIC, when thousands of school leavers with enjoy a week long holiday with friends to celebrate the end of high school. Of course, Schoolies Week is meant to be fun – after all that’s the whole point. But to have fun, it’s important to stay safe and knowing some of the precautions can help. 

How do you know if your friend or brother or sister is being bullied at school? They may start doing some of these things:

• They’ve started to become too scared to go to school or hang out with friends.
• Want to stay at home all the time
• They have their things stolen or broken or hidden from them.
• Seem to be afraid, nervous, worried, stressed or anxious.
• They’ve become moody or cry a lot
• Can’t concentrate on schoolwork and are falling behind
• Can’t sleep at night and always seem tired
• Get upset or secretive when they check their phone or computer
• Keep putting themselves down
• You see them being hassled or you read mean things about them online.
• You hear rumours about them. Hear nasty comments about them.

What to do if someone you know, your friend, brother or sister is being bullied.

You’re being a bully if you are nasty to someone every day or even every week. It might be straight to their face, behind their back or on-line. (It may have just been one time)

How do you feel when you’re saying or doing nasty things to people?

Stop making yourself feel bad, guilty, nothing, scared and nervous!

Is there something more constructive you could do to make yourself feel powerful or excited?

Why do you do it?