ThinkUKnow Presentation

On the 12th and 13th October, students in Years 7 to 11 participated in the ThinkUKnow presentation delivered by Gerry and Matt from the Australian Federal Police. The AFP's ThinkUKnow presentation is a 45-minute session that educates students on topics that help raise awareness about online child sexual exploitation and provide strategies and knowledge to remain cyber safe. These sessions are intended to provide clear warnings about who people talk to online, what information and data they are freely giving away when they use apps on their devices, and the consequences that can come from actions online.

The students and staff had many positive things to say about the presentations. Especially as our students increase connectivity through devices. Our students were still surprised at some of the facts they were confronted with, especially around how quickly they can lose control of their data and information and the consequences that this can have on them. Students in all groups were eager to ask and answer questions, with enthusiastic participants being branded “junior detectives” and receiving a police badge from Gerry. Unfortunately, they had to give the badge back, but it hopefully inspired some of them to think about earning their very own badge in the future!

The senior students also had the chance to hear about and discuss careers in the Australian Federal Police, with many of our Year 11’s staying after the presentation to learn more about careers in the police force. The Year 12’s did not have a formal session due to their imminent exam period, but were invited to come along during break times to have an opportunity to talk to our visitors about cyber-safety and police careers.

Following the presentations, Gerry and Matt toured the school and visited a few classes to talk to students about their work, providing extra opportunities for students to ask questions. They were impressed with the facilities and opportunities we provide our students and their enthusiasm to engage them in conversation as well as their curiosity about the work and career.

Greater Shepparton Secondary College would like to thank Gerry and Matt for their visit and their presentation and hope to continue working with them in the future to improve our students awareness of cyber safety.

Evie - Yr 7: "The AFP Presentation was great and very informative to keep kids like me safe from the internet and who could be hiding behind it. It showed us the dangers of the real world and how to stay protected from it".

Shylah - Yr 7: "I liked the AFP Presentation, it gave me information that I wasn’t aware of and showed me how I need to be safe when online".

Josh - Yr 7: "The AFP Presentation showed me how kids can be blackmailed while online, how to avoid getting into that situation and how to handle it".

Staff Testimonials:

*Overall I thought it was good. Students at times, need to be told in no uncertain terms the consequences of their actions. 

*Well worth while presentation to secondary school students. Many think they are very well informed about the internet, however, on return to class yesterday we had a follow up discussion, which proved the presentation was valuable to students learning and understanding of the law.

*It was an awesome presentation about cyber safety and not sharing your body around the internet, it was a meaningful message. the presentation was really good!

*Thank you for organising the AFP talk for our students. Despite the behaviours shown, I thought Matt and Gerry did an amazing job in delivering the message. It was very informative and as Multicultural staff I thought it was very well delivered and also know our Pasifika families will appreciate this because it is not often our community is being told about most of the subjects that were spoken about. It was definitely an eye opener and hope our students use this information and become good citizens of this country 😊

William Lees

Director of eLearning & Resource Centres