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Hello everyone,

This week, we are looking at bullying and cyberbullying. Please see below information on what they are/are not. There are also steps to help support your child and finally some information on unwanted contact which was discussed at last years parent information night help by the Alanah & Madeline Foundation.

This week, we were also sent a parent information flyer from the Alanah & Madaline Foundation about the upcoming social media age restrictions. Please have a read of the information, particularly if your child uses one of these online platforms.

Bullying as defined by the Kids Helpline -

Bullying behaviours:

Are aggressive, unkind or mean behaviours that are one-sided
Are repeated behaviours (it must happen multiple times, in an ongoing way to be defined as bullying)
Happen on purpose/are deliberate (i.e. aren't accidental for instance)
Must have a power imbalance – which means that people bullying and the people being bullied aren’t seen as being ‘equal’, or the person being bullied would have a hard time standing up for themself or fighting back, e.g. older, bigger people picking on smaller, younger people, or ‘popular’ people targeting someone who they see as being ‘unpopular’, or a group targeting one person
Causes harm - this can be physical (e.g. bruises), psychological (e.g. distress) or social (e.g. losing friends)

Some other serious types of behaviours, like discrimination, harassment and abuse, can overlap with bullying and are actually against the law.

Bullying is not the same as

Being rude – saying or doing something hurtful that wasn’t planned or meant to hurt someone, e.g. someone pushing in front of you in the canteen line
Being mean – doing something hurtful to someone on purpose once or twice, e.g. a friend refusing to hang out with you one day
Conflict – there's a disagreement, both sides are aggressive/mean and there's no power imbalance (both sides can 'stand up' for themselves or fight back), e.g. two friends getting into an argument or fight and saying mean things to each other
Respectful feedback on behaviours you're doing that aren’t ok, e.g. “It’s not ok roll your eyes every time they talk about sport.”
A friend putting in a ‘boundary’ e.g. “I don't like it when you keep telling me what to do.”
Natural consequences in socialising, e.g. a friend not trusting you because you shared their secret

Kids Health defines cyberbullying as the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. Online threats and mean, aggressive, or rude texts, tweets, posts, or messages all count. So does posting personal information, pictures, or videos designed to hurt or embarrass someone else.

If your child is dealing with cyberbullying, they can follow these steps

Don’t retaliate or respond
Collect evidence
Report
Change privacy settings
Block

Most importantly, talk to someone about it. We encourage students to find a trusted adult to discuss this with.

If your child is dealing with online issues, please come forward and speak to Mat at school. If you can have screenshots (collection of evidence), that will help.

Unwanted Contact

Unwanted contact is any online communication that makes a child feel uncomfortable, unsafe or harassed. It can be with a stranger or someone they know. Encourage your child to be wary when someone:

Asks a lot of questions about personal information soon after meeting.
Starts asking them for favours and does things in return.
Wants to keep the relationship secret.
Contacts frequently and in different ways – texting, Instagram, online chat services.
Asks them things like who else uses their device or computer, or which room the use it in.
Complements them on their appearance or body or asks things like, ‘Have you ever been kissed?’
Insists on meeting – guilt/threats if knocked back.

For more information on unwanted contact – click on this link for information from the eSafety Commissioner.

Warm regards,

Steven Puhar

Apps List 2025

WPS Digital Online Learning Statement

Digital Statement

Williamstown Primary School acknowledges the recent Human Rights Watch report on Edutech in privacy violations and findings.

Williamstown Primary works closely with the DET’s Digital Learning and privacy teams to ensure that all DET guidelines regarding the implementation of digital devices are followed.

Attached is the school’s digital statement outlining the online platforms and their privacy policies that the school uses on a day-to-day basis.

As part of the school’s ongoing student education, the school will further enhance key understandings around user privacy, as well as the tools available on selected devices.

This will be embedded within the current school’s eSafety program that currently sees students undertake numerous digital workshops run by both school leadership, classroom teachers and external providers such as the Alannah and Madeline Foundation’s eSmart organisation.

Parents are advised of a key iPad feature to turn tracking off. This feature will be explicitly demonstrated to students within the school-based workshops.

Go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking.

The list shows the apps that requested permission to track you. You can turn permission on or off for any app on the list.

To stop all apps from asking permission to track you, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track (at the top of the screen).

Williamstown Primary Digital Information

Below is a link to the schools Digital Learning page. This page contains key information about the school's implementation of the digital technology curriculum as a tool within a blended learning environment.

JB HiFi Digital Purchase Portal 2025/2026

The JB HiFi purchase portal is again available for Willy PS families. The schools recommended minimum specification device is the iPad Gen 9, but the portal does also offer a range of iPad models and accessories. Although students have access to bluetooth keyboards we also recommend the Smart Keyboard or a 3rd party keyboard incorporated within the cover. This accessory will add value to the users experience.

Please also note the change in School Code.

Although the portal is set up through JB HI-FI on behalf of the school, we encourage families to explore all purchase options.

Further GoogleSuite for Education Information

Please find attached documents released by DET.

The first document gives a deeper understanding of the DET licences G Suite for Education, how it is set up and how it differs from the public Google platform.

The second document provides families with supporting resources on how to protect individuals privacy online.

The Department of Education information pack for parents is available from the following link:

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