Our True Colors

A Children for Health book

 How we created Our True Colors

Children for Health worked with health workers, a group of children and their teachers on
the island of Guam to create this storybook and resource book. Because of the impact of the
Covid-19 Pandemic on schools in 2021, this work was done online and, because of school
closures and interruptions, the process took a year to complete.

The children wanted to develop a book on bullying and resilience. We ran several workshops
to train a facilitator. The facilitator then ran several workshops with a group of children to
generate ideas and storylines and to come up with issues, names and characters with which
they could identify. At the final stage, Mr Castro - the lead teacher on the book at Guahan
Academy Charter School - worked with the children to review the story and the artwork.

We hope you are as pleased with the result as we are!

Readers

The book is aimed at 10-14 year old children to read, to debate, to use to create songs and
drama, and to read to younger children. The summary sentences in red are to help younger
readers enjoy the story and can be used for reading and for older readers to help younger ones
follow the story.

Note that we have used American spellings where possible as this storybook was co-created
with teachers and health educators in Guam.

Authors: Liz Gifford and Clare Hanbury

Editor: Tobias Hanbury
Illustrator: David Gifford

First Edition April 2022

Published by Children for Health

Copyright © 2022 Children for Health. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-911480-47-1
 Acknowledgements

We would like to thank…

• Franklin V.T. Castro for facilitating in-person workshops, a Guahan Academy Charter School
Language Arts Teacher and Middle School Coordinator.
• Guahan Academy Charter School 6th Grade Class of 2022 and their instructor, Mr. Franklin
Castro.
• Guahan Academy Charter School 6th Grade Class of 2021 and their instructor, Mrs. Tanya
Pangelinan.
• Guahan Academy Charter School, Tiyan, Guam.
• Nicole Dhanraj, with HND Consultancy for facilitating virtual workshops with the youth
during the pandemic when school was online.
• The Get Healthy Guam Coalition for their vision of involving Guam’s youth in the
development of health promotion materials and to Renee Veksler in particular for her
fantastic management of this complex project.
• Guam Marianas Training Center for supporting efforts in health promotion.
• Guam Economic Development Authority, Tsubaki Tower and Guam Regional Medical City
for the Qualifying Certificate Community Contribution Grant Program award supporting
this Health Care project.
• Guam Memorial Hospital for their in-kind support of this project.

With thanks to the author, Tish Delaney for the inspiring title.

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 Our True Colors

Hi. I’m Kira and I come from a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with beautiful
beaches and green mountains and palm trees. I was so lucky to have the best family in the
world, my mom my dad and my two brothers, Joseph and Lucas. I had lots of good friends in
school and I woke up every morning happy to live in such a great place. For me, it was like
paradise.

Then suddenly everything changed. Dad was killed in a car crash. It was awful. So then Mom
had to go back to work. Mom was a teacher, but she could not find the right job for her on our
island. So we had to move to a larger island a few hundred miles away. My mom got a job as
a science teacher at a middle school there.

‘And it will be your school too,

Kira and Lucas,’ Mom said,
showing us a photo. It looked
way bigger than our old school,
with three big buildings around
a schoolyard. I wondered how
the children knew where to go
in such a large place. For the first
time, I was nervous about going
to school. I told myself to be brave
and that I had always had good
friends and lots of fun at my other
school. I would be all right.

It was sad leaving our old island and waving goodbye from the boat. We were still feeling sad
about Dad and it felt like we were leaving him behind too. I cried so much that day.

Mom told us that going to the new island would be an experience that was going to make us
stronger. ‘Yeah, right,’ I thought. Yet another thing that was ‘supposed to make us stronger.’

Kira must leave the island home she loves and begin a new life on a different island.

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I tried to look forward to the future and told myself, ‘this will be like our old lives but just on
a bigger island.’ I would make lots of new friends. I could see if this school has a science club
and a volleyball team.

Arriving on the new island, it seemed so much busier that our old island, with more roads and
brighter lights and lots of people in the malls. There was lots to get used to. Our new house
was all right but I missed Dad. We all did, and we all knew we did, but none of us spoke about
it.

The night before the first day of classes, I couldn’t get to sleep. Thoughts just went round and
round in my head. Was I was nervous or was I just excited? Sometimes feeling scared and
feeling excited seem almost the same. There should be a word for that! Scared AND excited.

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I must have fallen asleep and then suddenly I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Lucas was
standing by the bed, dressed in his uniform. ‘Wake up, Kira. Today is our first day of school.’ I
jumped out of bed worried I’d be late and wrestled on my school uniform.

‘I sure am excited about starting at our new school,’ I said as we ate breakfast. I felt more fear
than anything but I noticed that Lucas was not eating or talking – just looking at his bowl.
‘Hey, what’s the matter?’ I asked him.

‘It’s the first time I have gone to school far from home and I won’t know anybody my age. Will
they pick on me?’

‘Don’t worry. I think this school will be great - we both loved school before. Once you get used
to it, you’re going to love school as much as I do. It’s just the change. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine -
you’ll see.’

Mom came in and helped me do my hair in front of the mirror. Lucas and I have purple hair –
like everyone in our family and like most people back on our old island. I’ve always been proud
of how curly mine is.

‘Do you think people at school will laugh at our hair, Mom?’ said Lucas. ‘Because when I look
around, people on this island have blue hair or blue and green stripy hair, but I haven’t seen
any children our age with purple hair like us.’

‘You children have beautiful hair,’ Mom said, helping Lucas comb his curls neatly. ‘Don’t be
ashamed of the things that are special about you and what makes you -YOU. Be proud of who
you are and where you come from – I am! Then you will appreciate all the differences in other
people. Would you really like to live in a world in which everyone was the same? Now off you
go and have a lovely day. You need to walk to school without me as I am going to give Joseph
a lift to college on the other side of town, then I‘ll come back to our school and I will see you
at break time.’

Kira and her brother Lucas are worried about starting a new school because they will be the
only children with purple hair. The other children have blue or green hair. Mom says, ‘Don’t
worry. Be proud of who you are.’

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It wasn’t a long walk to school. Soon Lucas and I were standing at the gates looking at all the
children playing in the yard before the bell rang. I’d never seen so many children in one place.
All the children had either blue or green hair or hair with blue and green stripes.

‘Oh shoot, we really are the only ones with purple hair,’ whispered Lucas. ‘Ugh – this feels
horrible’.

Just then a little boy ran up to Lucas. ‘Hey! What great hair you have! It’s like fireworks. Are
you new today? I’m Ace. I am going to be on the Friends’ Bench at break time. If you don’t
know anyone or feel lonely, you can come and sit on the Friends’ Bench, and then people will
come over and talk. I’ll be there at first break and you can come and talk to me. But with your
great hair, everyone will want to know who you are. Which class are you in?’

‘Mr. Castro’s class.’

‘Hey, me too! Come with me. I’ll show

you the way there.’

Lucas looked at me to see if I minded

being left - even though I was his
big sister. ‘Go on,’ I said and we gave
each other a fist bump. ‘Thanks Ace!’ I
shouted as they ran off. Ah, I felt alone
then. I walked around the playground.
Everyone was hurrying by in groups
and no one talked to me. Then the bell
rang and I had to rush to find my first
class. With a fluttery feeling in my stomach I searched for Room 14. By the time I found it, all
the others were sitting at their desks, talking to each other and waiting for the teacher. Many
students in the room had shiny, straight blue or green hair. As soon as I walked in, everyone
stopped talking and looked at me.
I coughed, my voice dry. ‘Hello,’ I said, ‘Is this Room 14? I think this is my class.’

‘You’re in the right place,’ said a girl. ‘And there is a place by me. Would you like to sit here?
My name is Emma. I am part of the Middle School Spirit Club. We always make new kids feel
welcome at our school.’ ‘Hi, I’m Kira. I’m new today.’

I felt sick. I sat down next to Emma. The other girls crowded around the desk telling me their
names and asking questions about where I came from. They offered to help any time I wasn’t
sure what to do. I started to relax.
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Then I noticed that one girl did not come over or say hello. She sat at the back of the
classroom looking annoyed, twirling her curly, blue hair around her finger. She was glaring at
me.

‘Who is that?’ I asked Emma in a whisper. ‘She looks angry with me.’

‘That’s Arrabella. She came to the school a few weeks ago. She was worried that people
would not like her because she has curly hair, but she has lots of friends now. Everyone here
tries to be kind to new people and be friendly with them. That’s our way. Now you are the new
girl and we welcome you.’

Then Arrabella brought out a large shiny new phone.

She sat tapping it as if it was the most interesting
thing in the world, smiling and giggling and ignoring
everybody else. No one else in the class had a phone
like that. One by one, the students began to drift
towards Arrabella’s desk to see what was so interesting
on her phone. Soon there was only Emma left by me.

Emma shrugged and said, ‘Don’t worry. Arrabella’s just

excited about the new phone she got from her dad. He
has a big shop in town and buys her lots of new things.
She does show off a bit sometimes, but she’s OK really.’

‘Don’t forget,’ Arrabella said on purpose so that everyone could hear, ‘I’m having a party at
my house next week, but only my best friends can come! My loyal friends.’ She stared hard at
Emma who was still sitting next to me.

‘Hey Arrabella, don’t you want to come over and meet Kira?’ asked Emma.
Arrabella scowled and said, ‘Do you mean that girl with the purple hair? She looks weird to
me. But, hey, if you want to choose her to be your friend, go ahead, Emma’.

‘But we always welcome new students at this school,’ said Emma. ‘We were kind to you when
you were new!’’

Arrabella shrugged and carried on tapping her phone. Then the bell rang, the teacher came in
and everyone went back to their own desk.

Lucas makes a new friend, Ace, but in Kira’s class, Arrabella does not seem to like her.
Arrabella ignores Kira and plays on her shiny new phone.
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I was too busy to worry about Arrabella for the rest of the day. There was so much to learn and
to get used to. I was glad Emma and some of the other students helped me find the different
classrooms and the cafeteria. They let me sit with them at lunchtime. But when Arrabella saw
me there, she took her lunch to a different table and got out her phone, ignoring everybody
else. One by one, the other students went to join her until it was just me and Emma left again.
Emma had bright red cheeks by now and looked like she was going to cry. She took my arm
and said, ‘Let’s go outside. I’m sorry they are being like that’.

Out on the yard during break, I was glad to see Lucas playing with his new friend, Ace. Lucas
was easy to see because his purple hair stood out so much. Emma braided my hair into a new
style. ‘I love your hair,’ she said. ‘It’s really cool.’

Then Arrabella came by with a friend on each side. ‘Yuk,’ she said to Emma, ‘I don’t think I
would like to touch that weird purple hair.’

‘That’s rude,’ said Emma.

‘I think it’s rude not to be loyal to your old friends,’ replied Arrabella. ‘Don’t bother coming to
my party, Emma.’ Arrabella marched off with her friends following.

‘She’ll stop being mean soon,’ said Emma. But she did not look very sure about it. She
watched Arrabella and the other girls leave with a worried frown on her face. ‘Are you coming
to the Night Market tonight? Lots of people do. We can meet there and have some fun after
we have done our homework.’

Mom thought it would be a good idea to go to the Night Market. We could get some food
there and it would be good to go out after the sun had gone down and it was cooler.

When we got there, it looked like everyone had come out to watch the entertainment, with
traditional dancing and music. Everyone was enjoying the evening, sitting at tables eating
food, or shopping at the booths. The elders started dancing the cha-cha to live music and then
others joined in.

I saw Emma sitting at a table with her family. She waved at me and I ran over.

‘Hi,’ said Emma. ‘Come over and meet my family. Come and eat!’ There were containers of
red rice, fried chicken, and pickled salad. It looked delicious. I was nervous and did not feel
hungry. Anyway in my village it was rude to accept food too quickly. Kira replied, ‘No, thank
you. Thanks anyway’. In the custom I was familiar with, you had to refuse many times until
someone insisted you eat, just to make sure they really had enough to share. But what I did
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not know was that for Emma’s family and everyone on the island, it was considered strange to
refuse food when someone offered. So when I said no to what Emma and her family offered,
they looked surprised.

‘Perhaps she thinks our food is not good enough,’ whispered her mother, looking hurt.

‘She’s not hungry, I think,’ said Emma. ‘Let’s go see the dancing, Kira.’

Emma and I went off to watch the dancing. Emma did not say much and I realized she didn’t
like the way I had refused her mother’s food. I didn’t know what to say. We stood and watched
the people dancing. It looked fun with the music and the lights strung in the trees. But I did
not know the dances. I looked on with what felt like a heavy stone in my stomach.

Arrabella danced up to us with her friends.

‘Hey, come and dance,’ Arrabella said. She grabbed Emma. Emma was really good at dancing.
Soon she was smiling and laughing with Arrabella.

‘Come on Kira,’ she called. ‘Come and dance.’

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I didn’t know what to say. I knew I would look like an idiot trying to learn the dances in front
of everyone.

‘No thanks,’ I said. ‘I’ll just watch.’

‘Oh wow! Talk about being stuck up,’ said Arrabella. ‘So our dancing is not good enough for
you? And I heard you won’t eat our food too. Come on, Emma, let’s leave Miss Purple Hair. She
thinks she’s too good for us.’

Feeling ashamed and confused, I went back to join my family at the table where they were
having dinner but I didn’t feel like eating much. I had gotten everything wrong and now even
Emma did not like me. Somehow, I was going to have to put things right at school the next
day.

‘Isn’t this lovely,’ said Mom. ‘I’m glad you’re having fun with your new friends, Kira.’

The next day there was no chance to talk to Emma and say sorry for my mistake about the
food. Arrabella had got a group of students together, including Emma, and she told them
loudly: ‘You are my special friends. No one else can be in our group, especially people who
don’t belong here. Hey, look at this,’ said Arrabella showing them funny things on the phone.
‘Of course, only you can see it because you are my special friends. And only my special friends
can come to my party. And maybe some of the other students can if I decide they can.’

Soon Arrabella was the queen of the class, telling everyone what to do so that they might be
in her special group.

Emma kept glancing over at me with a worried frown as if she did not like what was
happening, but she did not know how to stop it.

That was when things started going downhill and I felt anxious about going to school. So
many of those in my class seemed to ignore and avoid me. I overhead mean comments, which
they probably wanted me to hear. When someone did try to be a little bit nice to me, Arrabella
would be mean to them too until they went back to sit with her. I tried to be brave about how
no one seemed to like me but it went on day after day, with me sitting on my own at lunch.
I felt that they were laughing at my purple hair. I felt like I was disappearing. Why didn’t the
children like me? What was wrong with me?

I was sitting at home one evening looking in the mirror. ‘My hair is horrible,’ I said, bursting
into tears.
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‘What are you talking about?’ said Mom, ‘Why do you say such a silly thing? What is the
matter?’

Arrabella tries to get the other children to ignore Kira, but Emma is a good friend to Kira. But
then Kira offends Emma’s family by following her old island’s custom of refusing the food they
ask her to share. Emma is hurt and now Kira has no friends and she hates her purple hair.

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I did not want to worry Mom about school because she was so busy with her new job so I did
not tell her about Arrabella. I thought about telling my teacher but I felt embarrassed. Mom
was also a teacher there. They would talk and worry about me. I could not sleep. Each night I
lay awake trying to work out what was I doing wrong. How could I change and get the others
to like me and be friends with me?

One evening my big brother Joseph came into my room while I was doing homework. ‘What’s
wrong, Kira? You’re so moody. What’s the matter?’

I burst into tears and then I told him everything that I had been keeping bottled up inside. He
listened with a serious face. ‘Am I weird?’ I asked Joseph. ‘No one likes me.’ I felt tears running
down my cheeks.

‘Of course not, Kira,’ Joseph said. ‘This isn’t your fault. Arrabella just wants to be the most
popular person so she feels good about herself. She tries to control people because she is
afraid. She does not have real friends if they are only with her because they are scared of her
or because she promises them treats. Kira, you are my wonderful and amazing sister! Do not
let Arrabella make you feel bad. What she is doing is wrong. And if she is mean to you, then
have some respect for yourself and remember that we all respect and love you. That garbage
that Arrabella says is not true.’

‘But I do have purple hair,’ I said. ‘That is true. It’s horrible like they say. I hate it.’

Joseph led me to stand in front of the mirror. ‘Look, you do have purple hair, and it is beautiful.

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You must love yourself and appreciate yourself first. You are beautiful and unique. Be proud
of who you are. I promise you that all school bullies come and go. Arrabella is a small part of
your life, like an ant. She has no right to hurt your feelings and bully you like this and I bet she
would get into trouble if the teachers knew.’

I laughed. Perhaps I could go into school and think of Arrabella as an ant. Perhaps I could even
feel proud of the girl in the mirror with bright purple hair -no matter what the other students
said about girls with purple hair not belonging.

Joseph could not come to school and stop Arrabella, but at least someone understood and
believed in me. It was good to talk about my feelings and realize what I was feeling.

‘I was bullied at school for a while,’ Joseph said.

‘Really, back on our old island?’

‘Yes. There are bullies everywhere. Bullies are bullies usually because they don’t feel good
about themselves. You have to remember that you can decide what they are in your life.
Arrabella is trying to be a big part but you can make her a small part. She doesn’t get to
decide what you are worth.’

‘What did you do to make them stop?’

‘I talked to the teacher, and I also made new friends from other classes in the sports and chess
club. Why don’t you join some clubs like you used to do?’

I had loved the science club and volleyball team at my old school. So, that’s what I did! I
checked out and joined various clubs in my new school. I soon met children from all different
classes. They didn’t know about Arrabella or care what she thought. It was true – she did start
to feel like an ant! I started feeling like I belonged somewhere. I stopped feeling like I was
disappearing. This was me, the girl with purple hair who loved science and sports. Soon I had
friends. I could stand it better when Arrabella shot me those mean looks under her curly hair.

Kira talks with her brother Joseph who was once bullied at school. Talking about her feelings
makes her feel better. He advises her to talk with the teacher and make friends in school clubs
like she did at her old school.
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I still had not talked to the teachers. Arrabella was clever. She was super nice in front of the
teachers and did not let the teachers see her mean side. If I told the teachers, would they
believe me? Making new friends at my clubs gave me courage so I thought, I will just ignore
Arrabella and say nothing.

Joseph had helped me think about my feelings and suggested I say them out loud, things like
being ‘mad’ and ‘furious’ and ‘frustrated’ because Arrabella would not stop. I felt stronger
saying those words out loud and able to cope with my feelings better. Doing this even made
me laugh.

At least Lucas seemed happy at school! Then one day I noticed Lucas standing alone in the
playground looking sad. I went over and asked him what had happened. Arrabella had told
Lucas’ friends not to play with him. She had got some bigger boys to push them around and
say they would do worse if they played with Lucas.

‘Kira, I don’t belong here,’ he said, crying. ‘I have the wrong color hair. Can I dye my purple
hair so that it turns blue?’
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Wow! I was so angry. I knew I had to do something now! How dare they treat my wonderful
brother like that? He didn’t deserve it. Lucas was perfect just the way he was.

So after school I spoke with my mom. I told her what was happening with me and with Lucas.

Mom put her arm around my shoulders. ‘I know you feel very hurt and angry now, but
remember that book we read to Lucas last year about the starfish?’
Kira frowned. ‘You mean the one where the starfish grows his leg back?’
‘I remember that story,’ said Lucas. ‘The part where the starfish was attacked by a sea turtle
and lost his leg but then the starfish grew its leg back.’
‘So you mean that although I am hurt, I can recover – like the starfish,’ said Kira.’ I can grow
my happy feelings back?’

‘That’s right,’ said mom.

Lucas beamed and gave me a hug.

‘But we must still do something about this,’ Mom said. ‘This is against the school rules.
Principal Sanchez won’t like it at all when she hears what’s been going on.’

When Kira realises that the bullying had got to Lucas, she then gets very angry. She talks to
Mom who reminds her that feelings can heal in time. But they also need to do something to
stop the bullying. They decide together to go and talk to Principal Sanchez.
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The next day Mom, Lucas and I went to have a meeting with the principal in her office.

‘This is bullying and it’s not allowed in our school,’ said Principal Sanchez. ‘We have a school
rule that everyone should treat everyone else with respect. Everyone has the right to come to
school and not be hurt with hands or with words. We teach this every year. It seems that some
students have forgotten or have fallen into bad habits and so we have to teach it again, and
regularly.’

‘Kira and Lucas,’ could I ask you to come and help me plan what to say to the school about
this? Then we will ask your mom to make sure she is also happy with your plan. It’s important
for you but it’s also important for ALL the children. You have been very brave in coming to me
about this.’

So over the next week, Lucas and I met with the principal and made a plan. When Mom saw
the plan she was pleased. But I know she was nervous too as the principal was going to talk a
bit about our personal story.

The next day there was a special assembly in the afternoon.

‘Sadly,’ Principal Sanchez said, ‘I have come to learn that some of the students in our school
are being unkind. I am surprised that some of you have forgotten that everyone here has the
right to come to school and not be hurt with words or hands. No one is allowed to push you
about or say mean and hurtful things to you. And we are not allowed to hurt other people by
pushing them or by saying mean and hurtful things to them. In this school we need to show
respect for each other. Everyone in our school belongs here, and we enjoy the many differences
and talents in our community.’

‘Now I am going to go out and fetch a very important person who is here in our school today.’

The children waited for the principal to come back with the important person. Was it another
principal from a bigger school? Was it the boy with the most prizes, or the school football
champion, or the head of the parents’ committee?

Principal Sanchez came back holding a small boy by the hand. She led him to the front. ‘This is
Justin,’ she told the school. ‘He is the youngest child in our school, but he is important because
everyone in our school is just as important as everyone else, and because everyone in our
school deserves to be treated with respect and kindness.’

‘Justin,’ she asked him, ‘Is anyone allowed to hurt you in school?’

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He shook his head. ‘No, Ma’am.’

‘And are you allowed to hurt other

people?’

‘No, Ma’am, never.’

‘That is right, Justin. And am I allowed

to hurt the other teachers or hurt the
children?’

‘Of course not. No, Ma’am.’

‘Thank you, Justin, for reminding us

about our school rule.’

Justin beamed and just before he

skipped back to his place he did a
Power V and a big bow in front of
everyone and we all laughed and
clapped.

Principal Sanchez carried on. ‘Now I want you to fill in the blanks in what I am saying:
‘Everyone must treat others with…’

‘…respect and kindness’ we all replied.

‘The teachers treat each other with…’

‘…respect and kindness.’

‘And they treat the students with…’

‘…respect.’

‘Just as the students treat the teachers with…’

‘…respect.’

‘And all students treat each other with…’

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‘…respect and kindness.’

‘Everyone here can expect to come to school and know they will not be bullied or hurt. When
people bully, then they do not respect themselves or others. Please say that last phrase out
loud together 3 times! When people bully, then they do not respect themselves or others.’

So we all repeated together three times: ‘When people bully, then they do not respect
themselves or others.’

There was loud clapping and laughing.

But Arrabella and her friends looked embarrassed. They looked to see where Kira was sitting.

‘I have something else to say,’ said

Principal Sanchez. ‘I want to thank
all the students who have helped our
newest students to feel welcome in our
school. Kira and Lucas came from a far
away island. They have been very brave
after their father died and they had to
start a new life. I am proud of all the
children who have helped them and
made them feel welcome.’

Now Arrabella and her friends were

bright red. They did not want everyone
to know they had been mean and to
think that they were unkind.

‘No-one,’ said the principal, ‘needs to bully people and be mean to have real friends. True
friends are kind to each other and respect each other, and that is what we expect in our
school.’

Kira, Lucas and their mom talk to Principal Sanchez. The children help Principal Sanchez
prepare a talk for a special assembly, reminding the children that everyone, young or old, has
the right to come to school and expect not to be hurt with hands or with words. They all agree
that everyone must treat each other with respect and kindness.
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After the assembly no one listened to Arrabella anymore. The other children did not want to
be with her. Her mean behavior had been shown up for what it was. It was clear that Arrabella
was now ashamed of herself.

‘But I didn’t know your dad had died, Kira,’ Arrabella said and began to cry. ‘Everyone liked
me when I was the new girl but when you came along, I thought they would like you better
because you were the new girl now. I got bullied in my old school and so I tried to get friends
with my phone and my parties, and by being angry with people if they did not do what I said.
But now everyone hates me.’

‘So you bullied people because you had been bullied?’ said Emma.

‘Nobody hates you,’ I said. ‘You can have real friends by being kind and loyal. Friends that
you buy or bully are not real friends. And, yes my dad died but I don’t want you to be nice just
because you feel sorry for me. There’s never a good reason to bully and there’s never a reason
to stop bullying. No one should bully someone else - that’s it.’

Then I had an idea. ‘Listen, we have been through a bad time. Let’s figure out how to support
other children who have felt bullied.’

Arrabella nodded and gave me a small smile. ‘That sounds good. We can talk to younger
children and teach them how to be kind and friendly.’

‘Yes,’ said Emma. ‘And teach them how to stop bullies getting away with it. Because we are all
sorry how we have acted and we don’t want to do it again or see it happen to other children.’

So, Arrabella, Emma and I along with some of the other students began to give mini-talks. We
helped to give sessions to younger children in other classes.

More children with purple hair and some with yellow hair arrived. We set up welcome schemes
with the teachers for the new students and now the school has regular ‘circle of respect’
sessions to remind the children that bullying hurts everyone and we don’t want it in our
school.

I enjoyed school now! I hurried to get there each morning, looking forward to seeing my
friends.

I felt stronger, too! I had learned that I could get through things that are difficult at first. I
realized I was able to help others and make their lives better, too.

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One afternoon during the rainy season while it was misty, I was walking home with Arrabella
and Emma. We were all talking. Arrabella did not see a car coming. She stepped out into the
road. Before I had even realized what I had done, I grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.

‘Wow, that car was going so fast,’ said Arrabella. ‘Kira, if you had not been here I don’t know
what would have happened. I’m glad that you came to our school with your lovely purple hair
and I’m so glad that now I have real friends like you.’

Arrabella feels ashamed, but along with the teachers Kira, Emma and Arrabella set up ways to
make sure other children in school never get bullied and in doing so, they become the best of
friends.
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Our True Colors is a story for children aged 10-14 depending on their reading ability. They can
read it to younger children using the red sentences at the bottom of the pages plus the pictures.
The themes of the book are about the children learning about bullying and resilience and how to
manage feelings.

Ideas for Using the Story Book

1. Ask the children to look at three of the pictures. Ask them to guess what the story is about. The right
answer is not needed but this activity helps to develop curiosity.
2. Read the story with the children.
3. Ask the children to read the story to each other or retell the story chapter by chapter.
4. Divide the children into groups. Each group can read, retell or act out their chapter and think about
what they learned or like about that chapter.

Add your own ideas!

Ten Comprehension Questions

These are questions suitable for pairs or groups of children to ask and answer or, if writing practice
is required, select one or two of the questions and ask children to write an answer. With the dis-
cussion or writing approach, children can take it in turns to read or tell their answers to the whole
group.

1. Why did Kira have to leave the island home she loved?
2. Was the new school bigger or smaller than the old one?
3. Was Kira nervous about going to school?
4. What was Lucas’s new friend called?
5. What was the name of the girl who did not like Kira?
6. Why did Emma stop being friends with Kira?
7. What did Arrabella get the other girls to do to Emma?
8. What did Principal Sanchez tell the school at the special assembly?
9. Why did Arrabella feel ashamed?
10. What did Kira decide to do after the assembly and who helped?

Add your own questions!

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 Other Questions
These questions ask children to think more deeply about the story and link the story to their own lives.
Select one or two questions or ask children to vote for the questions they like the best. Ask children to ‘take
a question home’ to talk about with their friends and family. At the next session, ask them to describe what
their friends and family discussed then make up music or songs, draw pictures or dance.

Also, you can use one or two of these questions as a topic for a lesson or a class project. For example:

1. This story is called Our True Colors…what do you think this means and why do you think this phrase
has been picked as the title?
2. How do you think it feels if you are bullied?
3. Do people ever have the right to bully others? Do you have the right not to be bullied?
4. Why is an anti-bullying school policy like a circle?
5. At Kira’s school they have a Spirit Club. What do you think the children learn in that club? What kind
of activities might they do? What sort of club would you like in your school? What would you call your
club? Could it teach skills such as self-reliance and how to be a good friend?

Add your own questions!

Reading between the lines questions

1. How do you think Arrabella felt at the beginning?

2. Do you think Kira was brave?
3. Why did Arrabella feel happier in the end.

Add your own questions!

Response to the story questions

1. How can people recover from times when they feel hurt, angry or sad?
2. What would you tell someone who was being a bully?
3. What would you say to someone who was being bullied?

Add your own questions!

‘Suppose you were’ questions

1. Suppose you were Kira before she started at her new school, how would you feel?
2. Suppose you were Emma seeing your friend bullied, what would you do?
3. Suppose you were helping Kira, Emma and Arrabella set up ways to make sure new children did not get
bullied, what would you suggest?

Add your own questions!

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Linking the story to real life questions

1. When was the last time someone said something helpful to you that changed your mood or helped
you to overcome a problem? Describe this to a friend. Write down how this has helped you grow more
resilient.
2. Have you ever seen someone being bullied? What did you do? Were you a bystander or did you help?
Did anything good come from it? (If you don’t have any examples, ask your teachers or family members
about this question.)
3. Describe how you would share this information with others (when, where, how?). How do you think
others would react when you did this (friends, younger children, family members)?

Add your own questions!

Other Activities

This story is about feelings, resilience and bullying. Here are a few activities to help you explore the themes
of the story. You will have many more ideas. Pick activities that are relevant and important for your group of
children. You can also look at the Children for Health book ‘Unlocked.’

The Resilience Dance

1. Assemble the group of children outside or in a large indoor area.

2. Teach the children the half-fall-over movement.
3. Then ask them to get up and stand tall.
4. Then ask them to raise their arms and hands in a ‘Power V.’
5. Ask the children to follow your instructions as you say ‘Fall Over! Get Up! Feel
Strong!’ Practice this!
6. Ask the children to say the words ‘Fall Over! Get Up! Feel Strong!’ as they are doing
the movement.
7. Ask the children to move forward three steps after they have done the movement ‘Fall
Over! Get Up! Feel Strong!’ Practice this.
8. Ask the children to repeat the movements and then take one step back after they have
moved forward three steps. Do not ask the children to vocalise moving forward three
steps and moving back one – this is done silently. Practice this.
9. Repeat with the children in a line stepping towards you three steps and moving back one
step, repeating the words and gestures ‘Fall Over! Get Up! Feel Strong!’
10. Repeat the whole phrase ‘Fall Over! Get Up! Feel Strong!’ (Move forward three steps
and one step back.)
11. In pairs, ask the children to practice this ‘dance’ to each other. Let them practice until
you think they have really mastered it, and then do the dance with the whole group. It should look and
sound impressive!

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Reflection

• After this activity gather the children and ask them to be really quiet as they sit down outside, or it can
help to bring them inside. They will like the contrast! In a soft voice ask the children to think about the
reason for that activity.
• If some of them have ideas, let them tell the group. Then tell the children, ‘This dance is called the
Resilience Dance. Resilience is something we have and that gets stronger when we overcome
difficulties and problems. The more we have the better we are at coping with problems – plus we can
help each other develop it.’
• Ask the children ‘What does that dance teach us about something in our own lives?’ If this question is
too abstract, take each piece of the dance in turn, and ask the children:
o What could it mean in life to ‘Fall Down’? For example, a friend or relative saying or doing
something you did not like, doing something wrong in a lesson, taking something that did not
belong to you and getting into trouble, dealing with a difficult time – like school closing and
lockdown because of Covid-19 etc.
o What could it mean in life to ‘Get Up’ when you have ‘fallen down’? For example, getting the
courage to talk to a friend or relative who has said something you did not like and telling them
how you feel, finding ways to keep happy and busy during the lockdown etc.
o Why might you ‘Feel Strong’ once you have ‘got up’? For example, feeling good that you have
tried what you can to solve a problem between yourself and a friend or a relative – even if it
did not work, you tried! etc.
• Ask the children: Why do you think we also stepped back one step after moving forward? We move
three paces forward when we show resilience but often there is an obstacle in our way pushing us back
– this might be ourselves or other people or other challenges that come up. Developing and showing
resilience is not an easy movement forward. Sometimes we might feel we move more than one step
back. When children can fall down and get up in life and not just in dance you are resilient! Falling
down can be called a challenge. When we fall over, what’s the thing we need most at this moment –
someone to help us get up. These people could be friends but there are also people who are not friends
who can also help others ‘get up’.
• Tell the children: Well-being is about managing your emotions. None of us can control what happens
to us and we cannot be happy all of the time. But we can recognise our emotions and do things to help
and support each other so that we can keep moving forward and keep becoming the best we can be.
Resilience is about building our strength by falling and getting up and moving forward.
• In pairs or in threes, ask the children to talk about the meaning of each part of the dance.
• In their notebooks children can draw and label the four stickperson drawings under the heading,
Resilience!

Extension Activity

• Repeat the movement activity.

• Ask the children to discuss in pairs what each part of the dance means (to revise the last session).
• Then get the children to do the dance in pairs or in threes. One or two of the children in the pairs or
threes does the dance but after the first movement of ‘Fall Down’ they do not move until the other and
the other child helps the other(s) to ‘Get Up’ by straightening them gently.
• After this activity talk about the need for help from others when we, ’Fall Down’. Think of some exam-
ples. (These examples can be turned into role-plays.)

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Adapt! Adapt! Adapt! Feel free to adapt this Resilience Dance and add your own ideas.

Ask a Good Question

Examples of good questions that children can ask each other in pairs or in groups and at home:
• What should children do if they see someone being bullied?
• What should children do if they feel they are being bullied?
• What one thing can we do to be more kind to each other every day?

Body sculptures to explore feelings

1. Ask the children to work in pairs and complete these sentences (by writing or speaking): Things that
make me angry… sad… afraid…happy…Then complete the four sentences starting: When I am angry
I…, sad, I... afraid, I…happy, I...
2. Ask the children to share their ideas with another pair.
3. In groups of four, ask the children to make body sculptures to show different feelings such as anger,
happiness, sadness, and fear.
4. In the whole group, ask the children to perform the body sculptures while the other children try to iden-
tify the feeling each one represents.
5. In small groups, ask the children to practice the body sculptures with each group adding words which
are the opposite of what the body is saying. For example, you make a body sculpture showing anger and
the words you say are calm. Show these to the whole group.
6. Ask children to talk about situations when they say the opposite of what they feel, and ask them to talk
about why they do this.

Head Heart Feet Listening

1. Ask the children what is meant by ‘Active Listening.’

2. Explain: It is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves understanding. The
listener deeply listens to the speaker and then repeats what s/he thinks the speaker has said. Then the
speaker could find out if the listener really understood. If the listener did not, the speaker then has the
chance to say what they mean in another way to increase understanding. Now we are going to practice
head – heart – feet listening. The head is the facts, the heart is the feelings, and the feet is the purpose.
3. Ask the children to move into groups of four.
4. Ask the children to think of a problem they have had with a friend or a family member that bothered
them. Ask one person to volunteer as the storyteller.
5. Ask the three remaining participants to choose one of the following roles and explain that they will be
asked to share what they heard afterwards:
• one person in the group should listen only for the facts (head)
• one person should listen only for the feelings (heart)
• one person should listen only for the purpose – why the storyteller is telling this story (feet).
6. Invite the storyteller to share their story. Afterwards, ask the participants to share what they heard and
ask them to focus ONLY on the information linked either to the facts, the feelings, or the purpose.
7. Repeat, changing the groups and storytellers.

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8. Reflect on the activity with the entire group. Questions can include:
• How did it feel to be listening for the head, heart, feet – what different things did you ‘hear’?
• Did it help to think about the different aspects of the story?
• As the storyteller, how did it feel to have individuals simply listen to your story?
• How could this be used in everyday life?

Speaker-Listener Feelings

1. Give an example of a situation in which they had a strong feeling and describe how they expressed
these feelings.
2. Ask the children to discuss an example of their own in pairs with one being the speaker and one the lis-
tener. For example, the speaker….‘I spent a long time getting to my school for an extra class. When I got
there, the teacher was not around. I saw another teacher and I lost my temper with her and shouted, as
I was so angry and frustrated. I got into a lot of trouble for this.’
3. When the speaker has finished, the listener reflects the story and the feelings in it. ‘From your story, I
could see that when you found out that the teacher was not around, you felt very angry and frustrated
and you showed it by shouting at someone who was not responsible for this.’
4. Ask the children to swap over the role of speaker and listener.
5. In groups of four or six, share similar stories and responses.

Fishbowl Game

This game is a useful problem-solving game. Children make an inner and outer circle with partners facing
each other.
1. Children in the inner circle think of a problem and ask their partner in the outer circle to suggest advice.
The partner makes a suggestion.
2. After a few minutes, all the people in the outside circle move one place to the right. The children with
problems ask the same question to their new partner in the outer circle.
3. The game continues.
4. The circles can change places so the other half is asking the questions.

What is Bullying?

1. In pairs or in threes, ask children to complete the sentence that starts…’A child feels bullied when... ’
2. Go around the group listening to all the suggestions.
3. Explain four types of bullying and ask children to give details of each type.
• Verbal - teasing, name calling, threats, intimidation, demeaning jokes, rumours, gossip
• Physical - pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking, biting, hair pulling, inappropriate touching, breaking-
objects, and taking or damaging another’s possessions
• Emotional - leaving someone out, putting someone down, threatening to hurt or harm, telling lies
to hurt a person’s reputation, or humiliating someone in front of others
• Sexual - Speaking badly about someone’s gender or sexuality, unwanted or inappropriate touching
or physical contact, sharing personal information about relationships, or sharing private messages
or photos
4. Explain that bullying is more than disagreements, differences of opinion, or conflicts that occur be-
tween friends and classmates. It is about the intentional harm or humiliation of another with words or

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 behaviour that are repeated (or threatened that it will be). It’s hard to stop or prevent as it is carried
out by those with more power, physically or socially, or it is done by group to an individual.
5. Repeat the activity again, this time asking each pair or three to choose bullying that is verbal, physical,
emotional or sexual.
6. Explain: Bullies can be any size, age, grade, or gender. There are three roles in most bullying situations:
• Targets = Those who are bullied
• Bullies = Those doing the bullying
• Bystander = Those who see or know about the bullying (‘standing by’!)
7. Explain: We can play different roles throughout the day. For example:
• Peter was bullied on the bus in the morning and then made fun of Sam that afternoon.
• John laughed while watching a fight yesterday and then asked the new kid with no friends to sit
with him at lunch today.
• Sarah who was the target of a rumour on social media, that she stole some money might then
spread gossip about Jane who used to be here friend during lunch the next day.
When thinking about who is involved in bullying, we all are, and we are also able to change how we
behave and prevent bullying.
8. Explain: There are three steps to take which you saw in this story, Our True Colors:
• Tell someone, especially an adult
• Develop an action plan
• Assert your rights
In the story, Kira told her brother and then told her mom who took it to the school. They made a plan an
made it a school issue. As a result of her action Kira made it a safer school for everyone.
9. In pairs ask the children to:
• Think of a bullying incident that they know about;
• Write down what is happening, when and where it takes place, and who is involved;
• Imagine you are the target, what could you do and who do you need to help you?
• What could be done so everyone feels safer and bullying is prevented?
10. If possible, show children the laws and school policy in handling bullying situations.
Processing Sensitive Topics like Bullying

Talking about these topics can cause children some stress and discomfort. This is ok! But make sure you
process the activity at the end of the lesson or workshop. Try asking the questions below. Allow enough time
for children to answer. Try not to rush it. Maybe get children into groups or into pairs so that all the children
have a chance to discuss the questions for example, ‘what did you learn about the topic of bullying today?’
• Can you think of times in your life when you or someone you know was bullied?
• How do you think being bullied makes people feel?
• If you or someone you know is being bullied, what are some things that they can do to get help or to
stop the bullying?
• If someone started bullying you, who would you talk to about the situation? Who are some of the
people that would help you?
• What does it mean to be a bystander? (Watching someone being bullied without stepping in or getting
help.) Why are some people bystanders when it comes to bullying? How can you go from being a
bystander to someone who helps the situation?
• Now that you know more about bullying, what do you think you can do to make a difference at
school? What are some ways that you could help someone who was being bullied?

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