Whiz Kids: 'Bully Busters' Fight Bullying at Oakview Middle School

This week's Whiz Kids are the Bully Busters from Lake Orion High School; the high school students work with students at Oakland Township's to help prevent bullying in the school.

Lake Orion High School 'Bully Busters'

Schools: Lake Orion High School

Accomplishment: While many of their fellow students enjoy a late start Wednesday mornings, the Bully Busters – comprised of nearly 50 students from Lake Orion High School – volunteer their time at Oakview Middle School, where they teach strategies to students to help stop bullying at the middle school.

The Bully Busters are a part of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which Oakview Middle School implemented last November to cut down on bullying among the school's nearly 600 students.

“It’s always been part of our code of conduct to not bully kids – and there are consequences – but this is a more comprehensive program, and it’s research-based,” said Oakview Middle School Principal Alice Seppanen. “We wanted to do something more comprehensive, different, more intense.”

Pam Fine, a counselor at Oakview, helped bring the Olweus program to the school. Her son, Alex Fine, is a senior at Lake Orion High School; he helped assemble the Bully Busters.

“My job was to recruit my friends and have everybody start coming in," said Fine. "My mom came to the school to try telling everybody about it, and that’s how I got into it."

Key to awesomeness: Fine says there are now 47 Bully Busters total, all of whom give up every Wednesday morning that could be spent sleeping in to volunteer at the school.

“Every Wednesday, they’re here. It’s the most amazing thing," Seppanen said. She added, chuckling, "I mean, how much does a high school senior want to sleep in, you know?”

“I like that it’s a new program and not everybody has it," said Fine. “We hear that it’s making a difference."

“We’ve got kids from all walks of life from the high school, from the championship football players to people who are involved in drama and music,” said Seppanen. "They're a riot."

"The first couple weeks, it was like, oh man, I really want to sleep in, and then when we found out we were helping out the students and making a difference, it’s not even a chore volunteering any more," said Fine. "It’s just like, ‘hey, let’s go to Bully Busters Wednesday morning.’ It’s kind of fun.”

Fine added, "If it makes a difference – and if it does to one person – we did our job.”

Do you know our next Whiz Kid?

Each week, Oakland Township Patch seeks suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to editor Jen Anesi. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's name
• Whiz Kid's name and age
• Whiz Kid's school
• Whiz Kid's accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)