Magical antibullying message
MAGICIANS are notorious for making things disappear — a great skill when it comes to eradicating bullying in schools.
Elgregoe the Magician (Greg Britt), of Christchurch, is visiting Otago schools — with sidekicks such as Chester the liedetecting chicken and his ‘‘posse of parrots and puppets’’ — in a bid to teach 5 to 12yearolds how they can become part of the solution to bullying.
The longtime professional magician said he was inspired by a friend and school principal to transform his shows into an educational experience, blending humour and magical illusions with behavioural education.
Since then, more than 900,000 New Zealand children have been treated to his show, and this year thousands more will learn about the key elements needed to make bullying in schools disappear.
‘‘I want school to be a positive experience for them and give them the skills to have a bully-free day, because that’s the real magic,’’ he said.
This year, the show focuses on making pupils heroes at school by teaching them honesty, empa thy, resilience and how to find opportunities to help others build caring school communities.
Earlier this week, he visited Kaitangata and Stirling schools, and on Thursday he visited Sacred Heart and St Joseph’s Cathedral schools.
Yesterday he visited George Street Normal School before heading to Maniototo Area School and St John’s School in Ranfurly on Monday.