Teach your child to be Safe online, to be Good Digital Citizens and not to share personal photos or information.

There are many news stories about students sharing personal photos and personal data with friends and in some cases, strangers.  It is important that you have open conversations with your students regarding their personal safety.  Students need to be reminded that once something is posted, it is there forever! Whether that item is a photo or an unkind comment, you can't take it back.  If you wouldn't do it or say it in person, you certainly shouldn't do it or say it online.  All of our LES students receive extensive teaching regarding internet use. Please help us reinforce that teaching at home.  It is important that we not only teach our students how to stay safe online and how to be a good digital citizen, but we also need to model this behavior to our students so they understand the importance of making good choices.  It is important to monitor your child's online presence and their accounts.
Many sites have age restrictions to keep them in line with COPA guidelines and restrictions.  Before you allow your student to use any website, you should first check it out yourself, make sure the content is appropriate, and search for the Terms of Use to see what ages the site is intended for. Many sites require students to be 13 or older to use the site or to have an account.  Other sites require people to be 18 or older. These guidelines are in place to protect your children from predators and inappropriate content.

Learning From Home

As we move into Remote Learning, your students will be spending a lot of time online interacting with their teachers, classmates and completing assignments from and for their teachers.  Please be very diligent in monitoring their online access.  It is a good idea to start incorporating a "screens out" policy with your student so that you can always see what they are working on and looking at.
WCPSS team members and your teachers have been working very hard to be sure that we have safe, valuable resources for your students to use.  Please direct them to use the links provided.
The Student tab of our website has all of the approved links and sites your students are used to using, plus a few new ones that we found to be very helpful.  We work hard all year teaching your students to be safe online, and to tell an adult right away if something makes them uncomfortable, if someone is being a cyberbully, or if something just doesn't seem right.

I am available by email at any time to assist with any questions you might have, or if there is a problem with one of our links.  Please feel free to contact me at clevy2@wcpss.net if needed.

Don't forget to remind your students to take time away from technology and all screens. Play a game, run around in the yard, or go for a walk together.