The animated chatter and easy camaraderie displayed by three dozen girls in a Derry Area Middle School club seemed to belie the reason for the gathering.
Club Ophelia is a strategy Principal Cheryl Walters implemented in an effort to address behavior among girls that, she said, "used to be one of the banes of my existence."
Girls complained about the spread of rumors or being disinvited to sit at a favorite lunch table.
The vast majority were bystanders unsure how to help a friend being targeted, Walters said.
Cheryl Dellagesa, author of numerous books on girls and women, founded Club Ophelia as an anti-bullying program for middle school girls.
According to U.S. Department of Justice figures, in 2005 28 percent of students age 12-18 reported being bullied in the previous six months. Experts believe underreporting is common and a more accurate figure likely is higher.
Bullying among girls often involves "relational aggression," according to the Club Ophelia Web site. It can include exclusion, gossiping, clique building, silent treatment and intimidation.
Three years ago, Walters and an adviser took Club Ophelia training at Penn State and now offer the program to the district's girls in grades six through eight.
The program uses role playing to build awareness of how bullying feels and to build empathy in those who bully. High school girls who have gone through training mentor the younger girls.
Reaching out
A grant from Pittsburgh's FISA Foundation established the club. Middle school science teachers Lisa Dubich and Barbara Virone are club advisers.
Dubich said getting all parties together and hearing all versions can help nip problems in the bud.
Suggesting girls take time to cool off, rather than confronting each other, also can help, she said.
Virone keeps an on-line scrapbook of the club, and it's become so well-known in the community that parents of sixth-graders asked for applications at an open house last fall.
"I had some friend issues," said Megan Crusan, 14. "Girls were mostly gossiping about each other. I saw some get into fights."
The eighth-grader joined Club Ophelia in sixth grade.
"We learned about how the bullies start to pick on you and know you won't do anything, so they just keep doing it," she said. "We learned where to go for help -- teachers, principal, parents. I stand up for a lot of my friends and they do for me."
She's also learned to talk out problems with other girls.
"They don't feel like you're tattling on them and appreciate it more," she said.
Kealey Smartnick, 12, said her mother suggested she join the club because she was having a lot of arguments with friends last year.
Now in sixth grade, Smartnick said many disagreements seemed to center around who spent time with what friends.
"Girls give the silent treatment, block (other girls) from things other people are doing," she said.
The club helped her find ways of assisting someone who was being bullied, she said.
"You can go to an adult," she said. "You can befriend the victim."
Senior Amy Ludvik, 19, became a club mentor last year. She said she'd been teased in school and wasn't sure she could help the girls.
"I thought I was the only one going through this. I've made so many friends here," she said.
"I tell the girls, 'I live my life one day at a time,' " she said. "Some days are good, some days are bad."
She suggests coping mechanisms that have worked for her, like listening to music or reading a book.
Age-old problem
Dellasega said the club is active in about 15-20 Pennsylvania districts.
St. Vincent College's Prevention Projects contracts with all county districts on some type of service, said executive director Donna Kean, including anti-bullying programs upon request.
Staff members have been trained in the Club Ophelia program, Kean said, and the organization recommends it as a beneficial addition to bullying prevention initiatives. It appears to be more active in eastern Pennsylvania, she said.
Girl-on-girl bullying, Kean said, "has always been there. But each generation twists it a little bit.
"There might be some new trends. The use of cell phones and the Internet, e-mailing and texting, have taken a new turn with it."
That type of bullying might not be as overt or as observable in schools.
"But you see the results, the after-effects of being bullied," Kean said.
Those after-effects can include appearing withdrawn or depressed.
"Or they might go the other way and become more aggressive," she said.
"It's an age-old problem for middle school girls," Walter said. "We want to change the culture."
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