It was dreary outside as students arrived at Markham Elementary in Mt. Lebanon Monday morning, but the discussion that jump-started the week for the fourth-graders in Dianne Evangelista's class was lively and colorful.

The students, who sat in a circle with their teacher and school counselor Amy Whealdon, had their hands raised high to share their ideas on how to be more aware of bullying in their school and how to include students in all activities, ranging from science projects to recess games.

"If you see someone sitting off in the shade, you can ask them if they want to join in," Ryan Wilkinson said.

Classmate Tori Touscany chimed in: "Sometimes people sit alone on the bench because they want people to come to them."

The weekly Monday morning discussions, held from 8:40 to 9 a.m., are a cornerstone to an anti-bullying program implemented at Markham and Washington elementaries in Mt. Lebanon last year.

Everyone in the school, including administrators, attends one of the classroom sessions to discuss bullying issues and ways to reduce bullying in the school.

By next fall, the program will be introduced at the district's other five elementary schools, and in the fall of 2010, parts of it will be incorporated in the anti-bullying programs already in place at Mellon and Jefferson middle schools.

The program is based on the work of Swedish psychologist Dan Olweus, who is considered one of the founding fathers of bully/victim research.

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program calls for the classroom meetings and heavy teacher involvement, the posting of anti-bullying rules prominently throughout the school, a total dedication to the program by administrators and an increase in adult supervision of bully target areas such as the cafeteria, hallways and stairwells.

Mt. Lebanon is using the Olweus approach but adding elements specific to issues in its school community.

For instance, in addition to the weekly classroom meetings and monthly staff meetings, Ms. Whealdon holds weekly recess meetings with the students who stay at school for lunch and recess. During those meetings, they discuss playground and recess issues and ways to avoid problems and include everyone.

In addition, the Mt. Lebanon program requires all students and their parents to sign an anti-bullying pledge. With the pledge, they promise to not bully others, to help those who are being bullied if they are able, to make an extra effort to include others in all school and recess activities and to tell an adult when they see someone bullying.

In addition to the individual pledges the students sign, there is also a large banner holding the pledge in the school hallway, and all of the students and teachers were asked to sign that as well.

Students who are caught displaying bullying behavior are required to call their parents from school and to fill out a "Think About It" form in which they have to provide written answers to questions about why they committed their acts of bullying, how to prevent it in the future and how to apologize to the person who was hurt by the actions.

During their Monday morning sessions, students are taught the definitions of bullying. They include not only physical or verbal aggression but also subtle actions, such as exclusion.

They then are taught strategies for reacting to bullying, which include everything from standing up for someone who is being bullied, telling a teacher about the situation and making sure to include everyone in a group.

"I really like the intimacy of it where the kids are all together on the carpet, and not every week is scripted lesson," Mrs. Evangelista said.

Oftentimes, the students will bring up incidents from the past week, Mrs. Evangelista said. One important rule is that no names are attached to the incidents.

"This is not to point out a bad, misbehaved child, but to be reflective. We all learn from each other."

Mrs. Evangelista said she believes the strength of the program is that it provides the students with "the strategies to fall back on when they are faced with adverse situations."

Diana Sanner, a kindergarten teacher at Markham, said she sees the students in her class striving to be nice to each other in an effort to put into action what they talk about during their Monday meetings.

Surveys taken by the students before the program was started and again at the end of last year indicated that students felt there was a decline in bullying behavior at Markham during the year. The survey asks students about their experience as victims and as perpetrators of bullying behavior.

The survey results encouraged district officials who already had planned to expand the program to the other elementary schools. To that end, core teams of about 12 people will be trained at each of the schools in January and February. Those teams will then train the rest of employees, students and parents, said Peter Berg, supervisor of guidance for the district.

Mr. Berg said he believes the program is effective because it is developmentally appropriate.

"It's very concrete that they are writing down their behavior and how it is in violation of the school's policies and culture," Mr. Berg said.

"And, they see that the teachers and administrators buy into it."