ISSUE
2 February
School Counseling News
2017
Upcoming Events What is Erin’s Law??
In this issue Erin's Law P.1
“Erin’s Law” requires that all public schools in each state implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program yearly which teaches:
Build Oregon Career Expo March 8 - 9:00-1:00 @ SHS Middle School Forcasting March date TBD @ OPE
Cyberbullying P.2 Trending Apps P.3 Trending Apps Cntd P.4 Parent Resources P.5
1. Students in grades preK – 12th grade, ageappropriate techniques to recognize child sexual abuse and tell a trusted adult 2. School personnel all about child sexual abuse 3. Parents & guardians the warning signs of child sexual abuse, plus needed assistance, referral or resource information to support sexually abused children and their families
Prevent Cyberbullying Tips P.6
Students will receive developmentally appropriate instruction at the minimum of 4 sessions per school year. They will focus on the following:
Personal Safety. Students will learn important safety rules to help them decide if something is safe or not. Older students will practice strategies to avoid peer pressure in unsafe situations. Touching Safety. Students will learn about safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches, and rules about touching private body parts. They’ll also learn to say no to unsafe or unwanted touches, and to tell an adult if someone breaks rules about touching private body parts. Assertiveness. These lessons will also give students a chance to practice asking an adult for help, telling an adult about an unsafe situation, and being assertive to get out of unsafe situations.
Parental involvement component is available to parents on a yearly basis as required \by Erin’s Law to inform parents about child sexual abuse topics. Parents will be offered the curriculum called “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children “. This training is two hours in total and will include: Characteristics of offenders; “Grooming” behaviors; and how to discuss child sexual abuse prevention with children. The parent training will be offered on March 22nd from 6-8pm at the High School Auditorium. We will have child care on site for those who need it. A flyer will be sent home to families with more information regarding the training. All school staff will receive yearly professional training as required by Erin’s Law. Staff will receive the curriculum called “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children “. This training is two hours in total and will include: Communicating child sexual abuse prevention techniques to students; effects of child sexual abuse on children; receiving child sexual abuse reports and disclosures; and mandated reporting. This training will occur on March 24th from 1-3 pm in the High School Auditorium.
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What is cyber bullying? Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.
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Social networking is on the rise and approximately 75% or more of teenagers in America currently have profiles on social networking sites. One study found that 22 percent of teenagers log onto their favorite social media sites more than 10 times a day. Just like many things in our children’s lives social networking sites have both pros and cons. However, this level of engagement online increases the risks of cyberbullying, “Facebook depression” (a new phenomenon where “de-friending” and online bullying lead to symptoms of depression), exposure to inappropriate content, and sexting. Just as we prepare our kids for life in the real world, we should prepare them for life in the online world. As a starting point parents should stay informed about social media networks their kids are using, talk about ground rules and dangers, know privacy settings, and when necessary limit cell phone use.
Snapchat started out as an app for sending temporary pictures and, although it’s expanded, this is still its core feature. The app allows users to capture videos and pictures that self destruct after a few seconds. When a user sends a message they get to decide whether it will live for between 1 and 10 seconds. After that it’s history, probably. Even though Snapchat doesn’t support saving received messages, Smartphone operating systems like Apple's iOS and Google's Android do allow you to capture the screen. Anyone who knows your username or phone number can send you a message, but you can configure Snapchat to only accept messages from people on your friends list. Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing site that allows its users to share pictures and videos either publicly or privately on the app, as well as through a variety of other social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr. You can set your account to be public or private. Sinsta/Finsta is a term used for a secret/second/ or fake Instagram where people post scandalous pictures they wouldn’t put on their normal Instagram. Tumblr is one of world’s the most popular blogging platforms (Wiki). Users can post on their boards, follow other bloggers, or search posts by keywords. Tumblr lets bloggers post various content, such as text, photos, pictures, music, videos, links and more. Posted content can be original or re-posted from others’ boards. All accounts on Tumblr are public and you can’t completely block another user.
4 Twitter is a micro-blog. Unlike a blog where a post can be any length, Twitter only allows “tweets” or messages up to 140 characters. When kids post a tweet, it immediately appears on their home page, on their followers’ pages, and can be searched on Twitter. Kids can choose to follow anyone and anyone can follow them. Twitter does have protected accounts, but most users opt for public accounts. Kids can click on the camera icon to add pictures to their tweets. (The compass icon is for adding location). Kids can also use apps such as Twitpic, Instagram, Twitvid and Yfrog to upload photos or videos and publish them in their tweets. Houseparty is a group video chat social networking site. It is almost like FaceTiming but you can chat with up to eight people at once. Because there's no screening and the video is live, there's always the possibility of inappropriate content for children, but that will largely depend on the friends who are communicating. Parents should note that users can send links to their profiles on the app via a text message to whomever they want, and it's possible to take a screenshot - even of private groups -- and share it.
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Whisper is a social networking app that is rated for teens. This description was taken from the google play app store" Whisper is an online community where millions of people around the world share real thoughts, trade advice, and get the inside scoop.“The experience of spending time on Whisper is unlike any other major social network: It's more raw, more moving...and yes, often more addictive.” Mashable. Anyone can post an anonymous message to the service in the form of an image macro: text overlaid on a picture. When you open the app, you see six such images. Each one has a "secret" on it. You can respond to a message publicly or privately, choosing a public anonymous post or a private pseudonymous chat. Users don't have a public identity in the app. While they do have persistent handles, there's no way to contact them except *through* the messages they post.
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Elementary Parent resources
Netsmartz.org and netsmartzkids.org are wonderful sites for parents, educators, kids, tweens, and teens about internet safety. This site also provides a fun way for kids to learn about internet safety and as a resource for parents. The site is founded by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Safe Side http://www.thesafesidedvds.com/ site has a great dvd available about internet safety (ages 7 and above) as well as one available on stranger safety.
Common Sense Media is geared toward reviewing movies, games, websites, apps, etc. this can be a helpful tool in learning about activities and sites that children may want access to https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ This site also gives parents some talking points about the media their child wants to access and talking points if access is being allowed.
The time you spend will help boost your children’s confidence and build effective strategies for facing bullying—whether children are being bullied, engaging in bullying, or witnessing bullying. Take a few minutes and “check in,” by asking about school, their friends, and any challenges they face. KnowBullying has simple conversation starters to begin a discussion with your child.
Books that Deal with Cyberbullying Bully By Patricia Polacco is aimed for third grade to fifth grade students. The story follows Lyla, who becomes popular, witnessing bullying at school and on Facebook. She must decide if she is going to stand up for what is right or to continue to silently let it happen. Confessions of a Former Bully by Trudy Ludwig is a great book for third graders to sixth graders to read. It is from the bully’s perspective and what made her change her ways. It has various tools to use when facing a bully and when witnessing bullying. The book dissects the different types of bullying, such as cyber. The book also lists other resources for parents and students to use. Dear Know-It-All: Set the Record Straight! By Rachel Wise is a book for third to seventh grade students. It is about Samantha, who writes for the school newspaper, and how one of her stories leads to cyberbullying. She reaches out to trusted adults and must decide on whether to bend to peer pressure or remain true to herself.
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Prevent Cyber bullying Parents and kids can prevent cyberbullying. Together, they can explore safe ways to use technology.
Be Aware of What Your Kids are Doing Online Talk with your kids about cyberbullying and other online issues regularly.
Know the sites your kids visit and their online activities. Ask where they’re going, what they’re doing, and who they’re doing it with. Tell your kids that as a responsible parent you may review their online communications if you think there is reason for concern. Installing parental control filtering software or monitoring programs are one option for monitoring your child’s online behavior, but do not rely solely on these tools. Have a sense of what they do online and in texts. Learn about the sites they like. Try out the devices they use. Ask for their passwords, but tell them you’ll only use them in case of emergency. Ask to “friend” or “follow” your kids on social media sites or ask another trusted adult to do so. Encourage your kids to tell you immediately if they, or someone they know, is being cyberbullied. Explain that you will not take away their computers or cell phones if they confide in you about a problem they are having.
Establish Rules about Technology Use
Establish rules about appropriate use of computers, cell phones, and other technology. For example, be clear about what sites they can visit and what they are permitted to do when they’re online. Show them how to be safe online. Help them be smart about what they post or say. Tell them not to share anything that could hurt or embarrass themselves or others. Once something is posted, it is out of their control whether someone else will forward it. Encourage kids to think about who they want to see the information and pictures they post online. Should complete strangers see it? Real friends only? Friends of friends? Think about how people who aren’t friends could use it. Tell kids to keep their passwords safe and not share them with friends. Sharing passwords can compromise their control over their online identities and activities.
Understand School Rules Some schools have developed policies on uses of technology that may affect the child’s online behavior in and out of the classroom. Ask the school if they have developed a policy. https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/prevention/index.html
