Welcome to the Middle School
Guidance Webpage!
Middle School Guidance News
June 2009
Internet Safety Month
With summer vacation fast approaching - which means lots of free time for our kids - I think it prudent to discuss the importance of internet safety. For the last few years their has been a real push for educators, parents and community members to teach children and teens about the risks involved with internet use (such as instant-messaging or using social network sites like MySpace or Facebook). Another danger we are hearing about recently is in regards to "sexting." Sexting is when a person uses their cell phone to send a text message and/or a picture that is sexual in nature. Our school is not immune to this issue. A great educational resource for parents and kids can be found online at www.NetSmartz.org. Here are some useful tips to prevent sexting:
THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES of taking, sending or forwarding a sexual picture of someone underage, even if it's you. You could get kicked off of sports teams, face humiliation, lose educational opportunities, and even get in trouble with the law.
NEVER TAKE images of yourself that you wouldn't want everyone - your classmates, your teachers, your family, or your employers - to see.
BEFORE HITTING SEND remember that you can't control where this image may travel. What you send to a boyfriend or girlfriend could easily end up with their friends, and their friends, and their friends...
IF YOU FORWARD a sexual picture of someone underage, you are responsible for this image as the original sender. You could face child pornography charges, go to jail, and have to register as a sex offender.
REPORT any nude pictures you receive on your cell phone to an adult you trust. Do not delete the message. Instead, get your parents, teachers and school counselors involved immediately.
Many students in our school have cell phones...like many students have computers. It's important that we take the time to educate our children about the dangers of cell phone use. Although we may be confident our own child(ren) is being responsible in their cell phone use, it does not necessarily protect them from someone choosing to send them an innappropriate message or picture. What can parents do? Law enforcement would recommend that students phones not have picture or text message capability. If your childs cell phone has these features, you can contact your service provider to see if they have the capability to limit the times your child can text. (We understand that this is a service that Verizon provides.) For example, your childs cell phone could be programmed to not receive nor send text messages during certain times of the day (like school hours). You can set it so that on the weekends they could text throughout the day - if you so choose. Finally, parents could have only certain numbers on their child's phone that they are allowed to text.
Beyond the safety features that can be taken in regards to your childs cell phone, it is equally important that we educate our kids about the risks they take if they choose to get involved in sexting. Like the internet, kids are more apt to say or do things when communicating on their cell phone vs. if they were talking on a land line phone in the kitchen. And, although they may think their conversation or picture is only being viewed by the receiver, it is highly possible for that message/picture to be sent to other people and/or put online. Their is a public service announcement on tv that could be a great discussion starter in regards to the dangers of sharing and posting personal information online. It is relevant to cell phones as many cell phones have the capability to download messages or pictures online. The commercial is titled "The Bulletin Board. To view this PSA, go to "www.prnewswire.com/mnr/adcouncil/26474/
If you have questions or would like more information regarding internet and cell phone safety, please contact me at mfisher@gemsvt.org. Have a wonderful and safe summer!!!
Respectfully,
Melissa Fisher
Middle School Counselor