Grant School Principal's Newsletter
March 14, 2016
Lunch help needed
Thanks
Farmigo is pick up is Wednesday!
Remember to get your orders in by Sunday night to pick them up on Wednesdays at Student release.
JOIN at www.farmigo.com/grantelementary
SHOP! There’s no commitment to order, no minimums, and no delivery fees.
On Wednesdays, you can pick up your order from 11:30 – 1:15pm at Grant School.
No School March 18-March 25. We return on March 28.
Common Sense on Privacy and Digital Footprints
What’s the Issue?
Our kids live in a culture of sharing that has forever changed the concept of privacy. In a world where everyone is connected and anything created online can be copied, pasted, and sent to thousands of people in a heartbeat, privacy starts to mean something different than simply guarding personal or private information. In this context, you might think about kids’ privacy in three categories: privacy and security, privacy and reputation, and privacy and advertising.
• Privacy and security: This is the private information (e.g., Social Security number, first and last name) that could put kids at risk for identity theft if it got into the wrong hands.
• Privacy and reputation: The information that could be personally embarrassing or hurtful to them or others if posted publicly.
• Privacy and advertising: The information about their habits and behavior online that companies collect in order to target them with ads and other content.
Why Does It Matter?
For good or bad, everything our kids do online creates digital footprints that migrate and persist. Kids share work with others and, as they get older, receive comments and feedback. This culture of sharing is beneficial in many ways. But if kids aren’t careful, their reputations can be harmed, or their information used in ways they never intended. For example, your child may think he or she just sent something to a friend, but that friend can send it to a friend’s friend, who can send it to their friends’ friends, and so on. Or they may innocently fill out an online form without understanding that this may make them vulnerable to identity theft. And their online behavior will likely be tracked without them knowing by the industry, which has little incentive to be responsible.
Common sense says
Make sure kids get your permission before filling out forms. Let kids know that you are the gatekeeper. They should ask your permission before filling out online forms, and they should always keep their Social Security number, birth date, address, and full name private.
Help kids think long term. Everything online leaves a digital footprint. Help them think before they post so that they will be proud of their Internet presence down the road. Remind kids that the Golden Rule applies online. Remind kids that they will be treated online as they treat others. Whatever negative things they say can and probably will come back to haunt them, in more ways than they can imagine.
Help kids see through advertising. The next time an ad pops up online, or you see that you are being targeted by ads specific to your interests, point it out to your kids. Let them know that some companies advertise to you based on what kinds of things you look at online.
For more information, go to https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
No Ice Cream Sales this week, 3/14-17
Yearbook information
Grant Mardi Gras Auction Dinner - Exciting details on this year’s Fund-a-Need!
Ninth Annual Westside Band Festival!
Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - 7:00PM
This year’s Band Festival will be a fun evening of band music, with all grade levels (4th-12th) participating in the Grand Finale. If you haven’t already done so, please return the bottom portion of the letter sent home with your child, indicating that you and your child will be able to attend. Please click here for a copy of the Festival information letter.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Grant Elementary School
Email: etodd@petk12.org
Website: http://www.grantelementary.org/
Location: 200 Grant Avenue, Petaluma, CA, United States
Phone: 707-778-4742
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grant-PTA-Petaluma/100243750022291?fref=ts
Twitter: @grantshamrocks