Dear Parents,
Did you know…
1. …that instruction in Internet safety begins in the Lower School when girls are in kindergarten?
2. …that before they leave the Lower School, girls are taught to evaluate advertisements found on websites for their content and audience?
3. …that students in fourth grade are given their own school email address, and are taught the difference between communicating on a personal account vs. a professional/school account?
All this and more was shared at our final presentation on Internet safety this past Tuesday. Lower School librarian Michelle Burns and Lower School Technology Coordinator Sarah Kinder walked their morning and evening audiences through the key components of the Lower School media literacy and technology curriculum. They also answered questions from the audience about how to support their children’s safe and knowledgeable use of the Internet. Parents who attended all three workshops received a copy of Raising a Digital Child: A Digital Citizenship Handbook for Parents.
If you were unable to attend the final workshop but would like copies of the resources that were handed out, please let me know, In addition, if you click here you will be able to read an article that came out earlier this year in Independent School Magazine about this very topic. There is also a good article in the latest edition of Consumer Reports. If you would like to see the slide show from Tuesday, which included several wonderful links and resources for parents, as well as a multitude of safe sites that your girls use in school and which are available to you from home, just use the following steps:
· On the Agnes Irwin School website, click on “Students” at the top of the page
· Click on “Libraries” in the left hand column
· Click on “Lower School Libraries.” The slide show can be found at the bottom of the left column.
My thanks to Sarah Kinder and Michelle Burns for their hard work in putting together an easy to understand presentation for parents, but also for closing out our series in such an informative way. If you attended a session in the series, we look forward to your feedback. And, as we begin to prepare already for next year, we welcome any suggestions for other topics that we can bring to you in our effort to partner with you in your daughter’s education.
I strongly encourage you to read all the information included in this week’s newsletter. The calendar is chock-full between now and the end of the year with important dates. Take just a few minutes to make sure you have all the information you need to keep your household running smoothly, and don’t hesitate to let us know if you have questions.
Donna