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Internet Safety Note
Dear
Parents,
This
week it was discovered that a number of our students in grades 7-12 are
participating in posting personal information on several web sites on
the internet. While most of the postings appear to be harmless and
serve as a form of communication between students, we found that our
students are also placing personal pictures, pictures of friends, and
personal identifying information such as their school, home address,
email accounts, and home phone numbers. We believe that giving out
personal information on the internet is dangerous. We attempt to
“block” access from school computers to those internet sites as we
discover them. Here at the school we have blocked the following web
sites:
www.myspace.com
www.facebook.com
www.xanga.com
www.livejournal.com
There
may be other sites that the district is not aware of. As we discover
questionable sites, we will continue to block access to them from school
computers.
For
your information I have included an excerpt from an internet article
written about internet safety.
The following are excerpts from a document
written by Lawrence J. Magid, a syndicated columnist and technology
commentator, who is author of The Little PC Book (Peachpit Press) and
host of www.safekids.com, a web site devoted to keeping children safer
in “cyberspace.” He is also the author of
Teen Safety on the Information Highway, a free brochure that is also
published by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
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Never give out identifying information — home address, school name,
or telephone number — in a public message such as chat or
newsgroups, and be sure you’re dealing with someone both you and
your children know and trust before giving out this information via
E-mail. Think carefully before revealing any personal information
such as age, financial information, or marital status. Do not post
photographs of your children in newsgroups or on web sites that are
available to the public. Consider using a pseudonym, avoid listing
your child’s name and E-mail address in any public directories and
profiles, and find out about your ISP’s privacy policies and
exercise your options for how your personal information may be use
- Get to
know the Internet and any services your child uses. If you don’t know
how to log on, get your child to show you. Have your child show you what
he or she does online, and become familiar with all the activities that
are available online. Find out if your child has a free web-based E-mail
account, such as those offered by Hotmail and Yahoo!®, and learn their
user names and passwords.
- Never
respond to messages that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent,
threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable. Encourage your children to
tell you if they encounter such messages. If you or your child receives
a message that is harassing, of a sexual nature, or threatening, forward
a copy of the message to your ISP, and ask for their assistance.
Instruct your child not to click on any links that are contained in
E-mail from persons they don’t know. Such links could lead to sexually
explicit or otherwise inappropriate web sites or could be a computer
virus. If someone sends you or your children messages or images that are
filthy, indecent, lewd, or obscene with the intent to abuse, annoy,
harass, or threaten you, or if you become aware of the transmission,
use, or viewing of child pornography while online immediately report
this to the NCMEC’s CyberTipline at 1-800-843-5678 or
www.cybertipline.com. Set reasonable rules and guidelines for
computer use by your children.
-
Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can’t
see or even hear the person it would be easy for someone to misrepresent
him- or herself. Thus someone indicating that “she” is a “12-year-old
girl” could in reality be a 40-year-old man.
- Set
reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children. (See
“My Rules for Online Safety” on the back cover.) Discuss these rules and
post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to monitor your
children’s compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the
amount of time your children spend on the computer. A child’s excessive
use of online services or the Internet, especially late at night, may be
a clue that there is a potential problem. Remember that personal
computers and online services should not be used as electronic
babysitters
If you
wish to have more information about internet safety you may access sites
such as the following. The district has not completely reviewed these
sites for accuracy, but they may serve as a starting point for you in
your search for more information.
http://tcs.cybertipline.com/
http://www.netsmartz.org/
http://www.staysafe.org/
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html
If you
have any further questions please feel free to call 397-8785.
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