CYBER SAFETY
Resources to help keep your kids safe online.
The following is an important message from Principal Mindy Johal:
The Internet and World Wide Web is an integral and routine part of instruction in our classrooms throughout the school day and most students also use these resources at home. Additionally, we know that some of our upper elementary aged students are using social media (even though the guidelines for these platforms state that users must be 13 years or older). In order to teach them about the appropriate and ethical uses of these resources, library teachers and instructional technology specialists partner with classroom teachers to instruct students about Cyber Safety. The lessons are constantly revised to accommodate the quickly changing world of technology.
Each year we have an incident or two where children misuse technology by either accessing another student’s account or by posting or sharing content that is hurtful to a peer. We use these unfortunate incidents as a window for teaching as we firmly believe that all mistakes are opportunities for learning. In most cases, the inappropriate use of technology occurs outside of school hours, so it is important for parents and teachers to partner in helping educate the children to keep them safe and to prevent incidents that may be harmful to their social emotional health.
Burr Welcomes Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan for Online Safety Presentation
The Burr School PTO hosted a special presentation on how best to keep our kids safe online. It was a sobering and insightful evening, and her presentation can be found here (April 4, 2018).
Living in a Smartphone World:
A community forum sponsored by Newton Public Schools
Inspired by the Atlantic Monthly piece entitled “Have smartphones destroyed a generation?” (goo.gl/U72Vvj), this forum provides information and resources on the impact of technology and social media, as well as the opportunity to discuss the role of educators and families in navigating this space. Click on the video to the right to watch this forum in its entirety. (Dec. 6, 2017)
Burr Parent Cyber Safey Presentation
Click here to view a presentation made by Principal Mindy Johal, Burr librarian, Ms. Patino and technology specialist, Ms. Vancanson on what steps are being taken at Burr to educate our kids about cyber safety and cyber bullying, as well as to learn what we can do at home to help keep our children safe. (Nov. 29, 2017)