FHUHS Guidance

On Tuesday November 1^st, we hosted an Internet Safety and Bullying Presentation by Katie LeClerc Greer. Thanks to grant funding, we were able to bring this phenomenal speaker to our school and community. The students heard the presentation in the afternoon and then kept her busy with 30 minutes worth of questions. She was so knowledgeable concerning the technology our students are so familiar with, and the questions they asked also showed how much they were lacking when it comes to keeping themselves safe on line. She will continue to answer questions via e-mail for any students that have more questions. She then came to the faculty meeting to offer answers to any of the school staff that were left with questions and encouraged them to attend later that evening. She returned at 6:30 that evening to speak to parents and community members. This was restricted to adults 18 and older. Some of the content was frightening for a parent to hear, but she also provided solutions to the cases she presented. It was so much information and so well presented. Parents had the opportunity to ask questions and inquire about personal experiences they needed solutions for. Katie was so personable and so well educated in the current technology; it was very comforting to be given the tools needed to help our students and children be safe in this ever evolving world of technology. Lastly, because there was so much information she left her contact information. Her website is www.klgreer.com and her e-mail is info@klgreer.com and she encouraged parents and students to contact her. Her website has great resources on the most current information because she updates it daily. Some of the topics she covered and can be found on the website are:

• Facebook changing all the time, each time you have to go into your privacy settings and recheck them
• Facebook is a public form and there is no “right to privacy” anything shared can be viewed, printed, copied and reposted by anyone-even someone that hacks in-and you can do nothing about it
• Facebook’s disclaimer and acceptance of use box that you have to check to start an account, states that you are 13 or older. If you lie on the date of birth to open the account and something happens, Facebook does not have to cooperate with you in requesting information (They are very cooperative with police and parents in dealing with, providing information, shutting down abusive users and improving their policies with appropriate users)
• Gaming- on line gaming has parental controls that you can set to allow in only know friends to game with. Predators have been known to find a busy group and get kids to answer personal questions while distracted by the fast game play.
• Bullying can bring serious charges and even if you delete the offensive material, it can still be extracted off the servers’ hard drive. It is mandatory for companies to keep this information for several years just so it is available to the authorities. It may not be accessible by you, but it is by request by the police.
• The other topic was “sexting” which is really child pornography, not only morally but also in the eyes of the law and can bring serious charges-even if you are the recipient (it is possession of child pornography). The important message here is, if you receive such a photo-bring it to the police immediately to make a report. The images are also available by the server/service provider for several years and can still be accessed by the police even after being deleted.
• She also promotes making it a requirement of using Facebook, etc. to have your child give you the user name and password so that you may check the account for any suspicious activity. Transparency between parents and children is the best protection. Just be careful not to “snoop” and but into their lives as a result of monitoring for safety or it can backfire on you.
• Computers should be in a family room-not in bedrooms-the potential for harm increases exponentially.
• Smart phones allow for 24/7 internet access-you can download an app (application) to the phones that allows for parental monitoring-what sites they visit, how much they are on line, etc…
• For home computers/laptops you can download a program for monitoring the internet that will send you messages if the use violates the parental limits you set.
• Also for cell phones with photo messaging capabilities-you can call your service provider to shut off that feature and they are bound to do so (they don’t like to because it reduces your bill as well in most cases) the phones can still take photos, they just can’t be sent OR received.

This is just some of the great information she provided (and it is on her website)and we were lucky to have such an experienced and informative speaker with her unique background. She works every day and is very strong in her beliefs that the technology is never going away, so we need to educate ourselves in how to let our children use it safely. Please take the time to visit her website and talk to your children on this important issue. Community Care Network Services: http://www.rmhsccn.org/ Services provided through Rutland Mental Health, offering an array of high quality health, human service, education, employment and rehabilitative programs that empower individuals, families and communities.