Schools
RDMS Hosts "Ryan's Story" on Jan. 9
John Halligan will present his story about bullying and teen suicide to River Dell students in the morning
A decade has passed for John Halligan since his 13-year-old son Ryan committed suicide after being subjected to years of both cyberbullying and bullying in school. On Wednesday morning, Halligan will spend 90 minutes with River Dell Middle School students talking about Ryan, bullying and indentifying signs of depression and suicide in their peers.
The student presentation will begin with a short video collection of home movie clips and pictures of Ryan. Halligan will relate Ryan's story and what led up to his suicide while offering students a families perspective of having a child who is a victimof bullying and cyber bullying.
Students will also learn about the signs and risk of teenage suicide and how best to help a friend, ask questions of Halligan, and then work in small groups with their peers and teachers to further process the information.
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Halligan will also repeat his presentation for parents at Holdrum Middle School, 393 Rivervale Road, RiverVale, at 7pm.
The parent presentation, which is for adults only, will focus on practical strategies for bullying, cyber bullying and teen depression, and will walk parents through the lessons learned by Halligan’s sad tragedy.
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