Contributed by Dermot Kelly

Anti-Bullying Week 2025 brought the theme “Power for Good” to life across ISZN. Throughout the week, students explored how their everyday choices—whether a kind word, a supportive gesture or a moment of empathy—shape a safe and welcoming school environment.

For an international school community like ISZN, where new students join throughout the year and friendships grow across cultures, the message of using one’s influence positively resonated strongly with both long-standing students and those who have only recently joined us.

Living Our Values: Resilience, Respect and Kindness

At ISZN, wellbeing is part of daily school life, and Anti-Bullying Week offered a meaningful opportunity to deepen this practice. Across both campuses, students made our values visible—showing respect through daily appreciation notes, expressing kindness through intentional acts of support and building resilience by discussing how to speak up for themselves and others in challenging moments.
These values were not only discussed—they were lived in classrooms, shared spaces and playgrounds.

A Week Filled With Creativity, Learning and Connection

The programme featured a wide range of hands-on activities tailored to each age group.

Primary School

Primary students engaged in daily themed activities, including the Kindness Chain, Compliment Cards, “Power for Good” pledges, the Buddy Challenge and a Kindness Hunt. Pre-K and Kindergarten especially enjoyed creating their own “buckets” after reading Fill Your Bucket, bringing the idea of “filling others’ buckets” to life in a joyful, concrete way. Kindergarten 2 students also wrote a collaborative kindness poem, weaving together their reflections on friendship and empathy.

Secondary School

In Secondary, the week began with appreciation exercises during Assembly, followed by daily check-in challenges and action prompts encouraging students to notice and respond to opportunities to support one another.

The standout moment of the week was the student-led Window Wall in the third-floor library. Students filled the windows with heartfelt messages about kindness, courage and standing up for others. The display grew steadily each day, becoming a powerful visual symbol of shared values within the Secondary School.

The week also included broad community activities such as Odd Socks Day, the Window Wall challenge, Wear Blue Day and Help Someone Friday, which helped maintain energy and engagement across all year groups.

Supporting Every Student in an International Community

Because ISZN welcomes students from countries and cultures around the world, each activity was designed around universal themes of belonging, respect and kindness.

Open-ended tasks enabled students to express themselves in ways that reflected their background and personal experiences. This helped ensure that the week felt equally relevant for long-standing ISZN families and students who are still adjusting to a new environment.

Many of the week’s activities – such as buddy challenges and appreciation notes – proved especially meaningful for students navigating new friendships or transitions.

Strengthening Skills That Help Prevent Bullying

Throughout the week, students practised key social-emotional skills that support strong peer relationships and help prevent bullying from taking root:

  • clear communication, through giving compliments or expressing appreciation

  • empathy, by imagining how others feel and recognising when someone may need support

  • collaboration, through teamwork on chains, pledges and buddy tasks

  • self-awareness, by understanding the impact their words and actions have on others

These skills form the foundation of a positive and inclusive international school environment – one where students understand how to stand up for themselves and others.

Part of Our Ongoing Wellbeing Commitment

Anti-Bullying Week connects closely with ISZN’s broader wellbeing work, which includes homeroom check-ins, peer-support opportunities and student leadership roles across Primary, Middle School and Secondary.
This mirrors the goals of international organisations such as Respect Me in Scotland, which promotes similar ideas under the theme “The Power of One”: https://www.respectme.org.uk/resources-abw-25/

The visibility of activities—especially the Window Wall—helps reinforce that kindness, courage and respect are not one-week topics, but year-round commitments.

Reflections From Students and Parents

Students across all ages shared enthusiastic feedback. Older students appreciated the chance to express themselves on the library windows, while younger students loved the buddy activities and the idea of “filling buckets” with kind actions. Several parents commented positively on the emphasis on connection and appreciated the photos and updates shared by teachers during the week.

What Comes Next

The momentum from Anti-Bullying Week continues through ongoing wellbeing lessons, peer-support activities and further community initiatives later this term. These efforts help strengthen a culture where every student feels safe, supported and empowered to use their Power for Good every day.

Related Links:

For reference, this year’s campaign is outlined by the Anti-Bullying Alliance:
https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week-2025/anti-bullying-week-2025/