APA News
Welcome to the third week of learning and teaching for all at St Saviour's Primary!
The purpose of my article today is to explore Cybersafety, particularly for parents of students in the upper years as they move to having their own Surface Go Device and potentially their own mobile phone or iPad.
At school, students are frequently using several programs to help them to communicate and collaborate for learning purposes. These may include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft OneNote, Reading Eggs and Mathletics. These programs are paid for by parents through school fees and are accessed by students in a generally safe environment. That is, the school has security that protects the students whilst they are online and teachers are aware to monitor for inappopriate use. All of our teachers also spend a lot of time in the early part of the year, going over the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Appropriate Use of Technology Guidelines and teaching them about being safe online. I also know that the majority of our parents are aware of which sites their children are accessing and have a good relationship with their child around technology use.
However, we do encounter times when inappropriate conversations (usually on social media sites) can have a negative impact on social situations and learning at school. Nearly all of these conversations happen outside of school hours when it is impossible for the teachers to monitor them. Some of these social media platforms include Snapchat, TikTok, Messenger and chat rooms within games that are being played.
A reminder to parents that the eSafety Commissioner Website (https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents ) has helpful information for parents around how to safely help your children navigate their digital world and avoid harmful experiences. Your support and guidance can help give your children the confidence to make sound decisions online. Three key strategies that are a starting point include:
- Being engaged, open and supportive – get involved and share time online as part of family life, keep lines of communication open, reassure your child that you will not cut off internet access if they report feeling uncomfortable online. If you notice a change in behaviour or mood, talk to your child about it and encourage them to come to you for advice.
- Set some rules – Get your child’s input, consider creating a family tech agreement, have clear consequences for breaking rules, model appropriate online behaviour as a parent.
- Use technology and get information – get to know the devices that your children are using and set them up for privacy and online safety and choose apps and games appropriately based on age and maturity levels (most of the social media sites listed above require users to be 13!)
Swimming Lessons
Due to a variety of reasons the swimming lesson dates this term have been adjusted slightly. This also means that the carnival date for Years 3-6 has changed. Please see adjusted dates below:
Lessons - Week 6 – 15, 16, 17 March & Week 8 – 28, 29 March
Carnival – Wednesday 30 March (unsure if parents can attend yet)
Further information and a permission form will be sent closer to the date. For your information, children will need togs, goggles, towel, swimming bag and thongs/sandals to wear to the pool. They can wear sport uniform on swimming days and swimming caps are provided by Glennie.
Regards
Sam Hannant
APA