From the Principal
Think U Know
ThinkUKnow is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank, Datacom and Microsoft, and delivered in partnership with all State and Territory police and Neighbourhood Watch Australasia.
ThinkUKnow is a national program delivering online child safety information in schools and organisations to parents, carers, teachers and students from the first year of school to Year 12.
This week I was able to organise for our St Francis de Sales students to participate in this program on Monday 7th September 2020. There will be a Caremonkey/Operoo permission for parents to sign and the program is FREE and will be delivered by members of the Victorian Police at our school. This program fits well into our current Inquiry unit on Empowerment with a focus on our Health and Safety curriculum. We plan to also access the program for parents and carers as soon as we can make an online booking. Further details will be provided as soon as we have a confirmed parent program booking.
ThinkUKnow for students
ThinkUKnow online safety sessions for students are available in schools to provide students with important online safety education. The sessions provide information that is tailored for different age groups. Please see the brief overview of the content for Juniors, Year 3/4 and Year 5/6:
Kindergarten - Year 2 (ages 5 –7)
This tailored session will identify how to stay safe online, who uses the internet, why people use the internet and the importance of not sharing personal details with people online. This education session focuses on adult supervision and will encourage children to speak to an adult before using the internet, use safe searching, along with how to stay safe online.
Years 3 – 4 (ages 8 – 9)
Students will learn about how the internet is used, why unidentifiable usernames and passwords are essential to maintaining privacy and security and why adult supervision and permission is important before signing up to apps and websites. There will be conversations around online gaming, respectful language and talking to people online. Along with this, the session will also cover safe searching and what help is available.
Years 5 – 6 (ages 10 – 11)
Students in this age group will have a session building on concepts of technology and online safety. Discussions will be held around usernames, passwords and privacy settings when using websites and apps. Further to this, students will learn about true and false information, safe searching and staying safe while using instant messaging. The presenter will also speak about sharing images or videos and what information can be gathered from these. Online gaming, staying safe when playing online games and what help is available to students to support them staying safe online will also be discussed.
Education is critical for prevention and keeping children safe online.
Now more than ever, it is important parents and carers remain aware of potential challenges, and equip themselves with the tools needed to protect their children and keep them safe while online. By understanding what young people SEE, SAY and DO online and the challenges they may face, parents and carers are more equipped to help their children navigate some of these issues and know what to do if their child needs help. For more information check the ThinkUKnow website.
This is an area where we need to work together to ensure the safety of our children and empower them with the key strategies to be safe online and offline.
Remote Learning
We are now settling into the rhythm of remote learning at SFS both at home and also for those at school. I would like to commend our parents, staff and students for a great start and for ensuring children are learning despite the challenges faced in all our different settings.
The teachers and LSOs are available during Google Meets for focus groups and can be contacted via email for additional assistance. If your child needs extra help or has a question please email the teacher. They will respond as soon as they are free. Your child can do a different task while they wait. It is important that children watch the videos provided. We need to work together to build their ability to think and apply their learning in order to develop agency and independence. However if there is a difficulty please communicate with the teacher. Through regular reflection and refinement of our remote learning and teaching strategies and by working in partnership we can promote independent, effective, active learning and develop critical and creative thinking.
Together ....WE CAN!!
URGENT - Download the SFS School App
Flexibuzz is no longer used by our school as it no longer exists!
The link to the SFS school app is on our home page on our website.
In an emergency we will be communicating alerts via the SFS app only.
It is vital that ALL parents download the SFS school app.
Keeping Safe
The numbers of Covid cases is a concern.
Parents and carers will be required to wear face coverings whenever they leave the house, including for school drop-off and pick-up.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has confirmed that a student who attends the onsite supervision program conducted in the CLC at St John’s Regional College has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). The school will close for a week for deep cleaning and contact tracing has commenced.
A close contact of anyone who has tested positive MUST self isolate for 14 days from last contact.
If your child/staff member experience symptoms associated with COVID-19
such as fever, shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, fatigue or tiredness, they should:
- Get tested or see a doctor (calling ahead before visiting).
- inform the school.
Once well again, they can return to school.
