If you haven’t heard about it, it’s time you did. A VNP is a Very Nice Person, and it’s the latest help for bullying in schools and on the playground. Dan Potter and Bracken Johnson, the bully from Napoleon Dynamite, have been traveling the Western United States spreading the word that it’s just not cool to be a bully. They visit middle and high schools with the message and offer 10 key ways to prevent bullying. They just finished part of their tour through Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, and California.
Potter and Johnson have even gone so far as to author a book they now give to each school they give their presentation too. The Secrets of Being a VNP for Students, which contains a chapter on each of the ten secrets, is given to the school along with a song that has been written expressly for the program. A CD of the song and full-color VNP certificates that can be printed out are also given to the school. These can be presented to students qualifying as the VNP of the week. Students can watch for peers who are demonstrating one of the VNP secrets and report that student’s name to the office for consideration. At the end of each school week, the office will decide which student was a good example to others and is a VNP.
Potter and Johnson are enjoying their kindness tour and hope to help change some lives along the way. They are well received by the younger set and adults alike as they also give an energetic corporate presentation for professional development. “Dan was very entertaining, and did a great job at handling 500 middle school students while keeping them engaged. The kids had fun, but learned valuable lessons at the same time. The students did get a big kick out of Bracken, meeting him and he had good ideas to add to the presentation. We appreciate all the curricular materials as well and will put them to good use,” notes Nancie Castro, principal of Excelsior Middle School in Byron, Calif. Visit www.veryniceperson.net or call 661-252-5141 to find out where the VNP tour is headed next.
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