Tips on Internet Safety
Dear Parents,
On October 3, 2005 Ms. Libbon sent a letter to each family addressing the school’s concern over your students’ welfare and safety while using the Internet. The concern stems primarily over the student’s use of social networking websites such as MySpace.com and Xanga.com in the privacy of your home. Through the use of such websites, students are able to create their own profiles, post pictures and communicate with anyone in the world who has access to the Internet. As Ms. Libbon noted, there are no filters, no protections, and no monitoring. Students can post anything on their site, whether it is appropriate or not. Oftentimes, students post messages that are inappropriate, offensive, or sexual in nature. More alarming is the fact that anyone can pose as a high school student and gain access to your student’s site; it is at this point when your son or daughter may be the most vulnerable. Sexual predators and pedophiles alike may have access to your children, especially if your child is unsupervised.
As Ms. Libbon stated, it is not the school’s position to monitor these sites for their content. We encourage you, the parent, to be proactive in regards to your son’s or daughter’s internet use; however, if information is given to the school that your son or daughter is posting inappropriate or offensive messages, the school may take disciplinary action since your son or daughter is a representative of the Bishop Montgomery High School community. Again, we encourage you to monitor your son’s or daughter’s internet use. Here are a few tips you can use to keep your children safe:
- Become educated on the matter. There are several sites available online that provide general information and guidance about children’s internet use such as: “Kidz Privacy” http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cononline/edcams/kidprivacy/index.htm
- Get rid of email accounts for your elementary and middle school children. Limit personal email accounts to high school or later. Allow younger students to use your family email address only to talk with relatives and approved friends.
- Put passwords on all your computers and change them frequently.
- Make sure you have firewalls and software loaded to restrict the sites your child can visit on the computer. Information about internet filtering and monitoring software is available at Software4parents.com
- Monitor the sites your child has visited. You can click on the “History” icon when you are online to monitor the sites that your child has visited. You can also check the sites that your child has been on by doing the following:
- Click on “My Computer”
- Click on “Local Disk (C:)”
- Click on the “Documents and Settings” folder
- Click on the folder for the user or the holder of the account, i.e. johnsmith
- Click on the “Cookies” folder
At this point you should be able to see all the sites that have been visited using the account. - Put the computer in a room where it is in plain sight of all adults.
- Do a Google search. Go to google.com, type in your child’s name and click on “Search.” If your child has a webpage or if your child’s name is on the internet you will find it. If you want to know if your child has a site on MySpace.com you can go to MySpace.com, and do a search by entering your child’s email address or by going to “groups” and conducting a search by name of the school or any other organization that your child may belong. Please refer to the attached letter if you find inappropriate or offensive material on your child’s MySpace or Xanga account. If you would like to cancel your son’s or daughter’s MySpace.com account, please follow the instructions listed on the enclosure.
“A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety”
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
“Internet Safety Awareness”
http://www.internet-safety.org/childrens_awareness.htm
You can also check the emails that your child has sent or received by checking the Recycle Bin on your hard drive or checking the “Deleted Items” or “Sent Items” folders on your email program.
If you have any questions about the Bishop Montgomery HS policy on Internet use or about this letter, please feel free to call Mr. Miller at (310) 540-2021, X231 or Mrs. Lynch at (310) 540-2021, X232.
