Wellbeing Corner

Cyber Safety Classroom Incursion

This week, across Tuesday and Wednesday, all the students across the school participated in the Cyber Safety Classroom incursion. The focus was on Online Safety for the Preps and Digital Wellbeing for the rest of the school. We had three amazing presenters across the two days: Kiah, Sam and Jack, who many of the students recognised from the learning videos we watch during our Cyber Safety Classroom lessons in class!

The presenters kept it real for the students, which was both engaging and insightful. For example, during the senior sessions, the presenters kept on getting notifications from an online game which distracted us from the presentation! This was a great way to introduce students to how games and apps use different strategies to keep us hooked on their platforms and provided an excellent segway into how we can take back control by changing our online settings.

Here are some key learning points and reflections from the students for each session:

Prep:

The Prep students explored how to be vigilant Safety Seekers as they navigate the fun and sometimes dangerous online world! They learnt about the various unsafe people that they might encounter online such as ‘Tricky People’, ‘Strangers’ and ‘Unkind People’, identifying ‘heavy’ feelings that alert us to unsafe things online, and dancing with Pevan and Sarah to their “STOP” song to learn all about how to stay safe online!

Ishan: We learnt about who the safe people are and who aren’t safe online.

Maddie: Pevan and Sarah taught us about STOP: S was ‘Silent’, T for ‘Tell an adult’, O was for ‘Get Out’, and P was for ‘Play with something else’

Year 1 and 2:

Year 1 and 2 students became Emotion Explorers and learnt about how they can enjoy the digital world whilst also being productive in the physical world. The key wasn’t about completely cutting off all digital and online content; it was about learning how to balance your lifestyle so you can reap the benefits of both worlds. They learnt how to look out for signs in their bodies and emotions that indicated they needed to switch off from the digital world and focus on physical activities. Then, together with Pevan and Sarah, they applied the acronym S.T.A.R.T – Switch off, Take a Break, Active, Rest, Time to Go Again, to skillfully balance their life. They also learnt how to recharge their wellbeing battery to maintain healthy mental health and wellbeing!

Arha: I learnt about different feelings. If you feel nervous it can mean that you are unsafe online, so I should take deep breaths.

Thinel: If you do something unhealthy you lose battery power but if you do something healthy you recharge your battery. If you recharge your battery, you can go back online. 

Bavi: We learnt how to be safe online. We learnt how to balance our digital experiences and also get enough exercise.

Arvin: I learnt how you can switch off from the digital world yourself to look after your wellbeing without being told to by your parents.

Ashleigh: I learnt the START strategy. It helps you take a break when you play too much online and then you can continue playing later. 

Year 3 and 4:

Year 3 and 4 students learnt how to be expert Digital Detectives by understanding the tricks that app and game creators use to keep us hooked on their platforms and on our devices. Through analysing data, they learnt the alarming reality of how addicted many people are to their devices and how it can impact our social and emotional wellbeing. Through real time demonstration, the students identified how apps can use notification, updates, auto-play functions and many other sneaky tricks to keep us wanting to come back for more! They then learnt strategies to break this cycle and take back control of our digital wellbeing so we can engage more healthily with our physical world.

Nila: When you see something bad online that makes you feel yucky, you should move out and join another game or do something else. I will make sure to turn off notifications so you can focus on what you need to do.

Yaara: I learnt that it’s important to talk only to people I know and to make sure that no one will take your personal information. I will turn off my device and tell an adult if I encounter danger online.

Mayon: I liked the April Fool’s joke at the start because it helped me get engaged and get ready for the learning. We learnt about Kids Helpline. If you experience something unkind online you can go there for help. That was something new I learnt.

Sansa: I liked the Emoji Charades because it helped me refocus on the learning. I learnt to use the report function on apps if you encounter something inappropriate online. The app will remove the inappropriate content. 

Year 5 and 6:

Year 5 and 6 students became Wellbeing Wonders as they built on the learning of the Year 3 and 4s. After building an understanding of how tech companies keep us hooked on their platforms and how to look out for red flags on scams, they then explored the social aspect of the digital world. The students were tasked with solving a dilemma – what would you do if your close friends started to make fun of someone else in a private group chat? We quickly realized that all possible actions had their pros and cons, and that there was no easy answer – however there was one answer that truly reflected the Cyber Safety Project values of Responsibility, Integrity, Strength and Empathy – even if it wasn’t an easy choice to action. 

Sithuki: If you’re in a situation where people are talking behind their back like cyber bullying – you shouldn’t be a bystander – you should be an upstander in a way that will keep the mood neutral without calling out or blaming anyone.

Thesara: I learnt that it’s always good to take some time off from the digital world and interact with the real world. Some strategies they taught me was to go into settings and turn off the notifications.

Menuli: I learnt that on the URL you need to look for the ‘s’ on https to know that it’s a secure website. This will help to keep me safe as I will check this more often when I’m online.

Yug: One thing I learnt today was the anyone over 10 years old can be in trouble with the law for cyberbullying online. I will make sure to turn off chat when I don’t need to use it as that is where these kinds of things often happen.