American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

AAHPERD Signs On To New Activity-Based Anti-Bullying Awareness Program

RESTON, VA, October 30, 2012—The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) today announced it is joining forces with "Play Well With Others…Be Active Against Bullying!" to support anti-bullying programs in every school in America. Launched this month during National Anti-Bullying Month by FlagHouse, a global supplier of equipment and resources for physical education and sports, the new Activity-Based Anti-Bullying Awareness Program focuses on children and youth actively playing and learning together in a cooperative environment.
The program has been developed to include anti-bullying resources for grades K-12 and is made up of two main components – an activity/games section for grades K-12 and a grade 6-8 resource/workbook guide containing classroom lessons and materials for assemblies and special events. The program goals are to provide individuals, organizations, schools and concerned parties with:

• Resources and tools to focus on the social consequences of bullying 
• Classroom lessons to inform, educate and provide the social skills necessary to prevent and stop bullying
• Activities and games
• Programs that support and promote anti-bullying and bullying prevention programs

According to AAHPERD Senior Program Director Cheryl Richardson, "We are thrilled to partner with 'Play Well With Others' because our members – physical education teachers and coaches – want school gymnasiums, locker rooms, playgrounds and playing fields to be safe, trusting environments where all students and athletes are treated with respect and encouragement. AAHPERD is committed to teaching all students the importance of teamwork, cooperation and working together and games and activities are one way to do that. In fact, Standard #5 of the National Standards for Physical Education calls for students to exhibit responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings."

FlagHouse launched this activity-based Anti-Bullying program in conjunction with its partners the National Police Athletic League (PAL), The Jared Foundation, American Camping Association, CATCH®, and Project Adventure. The program includes free educational resource materials, in addition to games and activities that are designed to promote cooperation and anti-bullying. FlagHouse has also designed a new line of Orange products to promote children actively playing together and fostering teamwork. The Orange was selected to support and show awareness for the Anti-Bullying movement (the official color of Anti-Bullying). The complete program is available at www.flaghouse.com/Antibullying.

Among AAHPERD's plans will be to promote the program to physical education teachers and coaches around the country, add relevant educational material to the website and encourage its 50 state and district associations to embrace the program.

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Contact:
Paula Kun
pkun@aahperd.org
703-476-3461

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FlagHouse:
FlagHouse is a premier global supplier of equipment and resources for physical education, sports, fitness and recreation, and for health, special needs, special education, sensory integration and multisensory environments.  FlagHouse offers more than 20,0000 innovative and quality products and solutions to enhance the lives of people of all ages and abilities.  FlagHouse is proud to partner with the Jared Foundation to promote healthy living and prevent obesity through adoption of the CATCH® Coordinated Approach to Child Health Program.  To learn more, visit www.flaghouse.com

The vision of AAHPERD is "Healthy People – Physically Educated and Physically Active!" Headquartered in Reston, VA, 25 miles west of Washington, DC, AAHPERD is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, physical activity, dance, school health and sport--all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. Its mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport by providing its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. For more information, visit www.aahperd.org.