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Premier gives Abbey Park top marks for safety By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF One small act of kindness may not make a huge impact, but a number of them can lead to community change. That's the case at Abbey Park High School -- which received a Premier's Safe Schools Award from the Ministry of Education to round out the 2011/2012 school year. The award didn't come as the result of any one initiative, but rather was a recognition of how numerous programs have made the west-end high school a safer place for all students. "All the things that I was reading about sound like sensible, logical things that one human being would do for another," said Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn, who made the presentation at the school just before classes ended for the summer. Flynn met with the school's administrative staff, its Safe Schools Action Team and a group of other people who had a helping hand in making the school a safe place. "Days have changed from the days when we told a kid to just suck it up and hit 'em back. That used to be a typical thing. `Don't let them push you around,'" Flynn said. The MPP noted organizations are now changing their methods and no longer turning a blind eye to bullying. "It sounds like you guys have been ahead of the curve. Sounds like you guys have been doing something about this for a long period of time," he said. Abbey Park has a number of programs that are both student and staff-run to help students feel safer at school. Some of the programs have been around for some time and others are new. One is the Link Crew program. At the beginning of the school year, senior students are paired with Grade 9 students through a variety of programs. Link Crew is in its fourth year at the high school, meaning every stuBring this AD & get an additional Regular Price 11 · Thursday, August 2, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog High school honoured: Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn presented Abbey Park High School with the Premier's Safe Schools Award from the Ministry of Education. Representing the high school were teacher Bob Hepburn (clockwise from left in back row), Oakville High School Liaison Officer Harpreet Bhathal, Vice Principal Paul Daignault, Vice Principal Lucy Marion, parent Laurel Best, teachers Leesa Allison, Anna Creighton, student Katy McLean, 17, and Principal Maria McLellan. dent has had a chance to go through it. Other initiatives include the iReach pilot program, which aims to get Grade 10 students engaged in school-wide events. There is also a Caring Adult program, designed by school staff for staff. Most students aren't aware of it, which is the intention of this program. Through it, adults at the school (teachers and staff) are asked to help identify students who may be struggling for a variety of reasons and then help them feel connected, happy and safe at school. "A lot of what we did this year was co- ordinate all those things to get them under one umbrella," said Vice Principal Paul Daignault. "Think of Grade 9 hazings. It doesn't happen here because no one in this school has had it done to them so it doesn't repeat itself." School administrators pride themselves on the fact that suspensions were down at the school this year. In addition, more students feel like they belong at school, according to the board's annual Tell Them From Me survey. Daignault noted, however, there is still work to be done. "We're not perfect, but what we've done is taken some measures to make our school better and the recognition here is probably about making changes," he said. The Safe Schools Action Team consists of school staff, students and community members, which the group says is helpful for the work it aims to do. Katie McLean, who just finished her final year at the school, was the outgoing leader of Link Crew and an integral part of the action team. The award, she said, is recognition of what the school has achieved and a good measurement for future initiatives. "This is an honour for our school to be representative of a safe school. I think it highlights what we've done but it shows what more we can do to continue this," she said. 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