Newsletter Monday 27th November, 2017
Kia ora Koutou
Thank you to those parents who were able to come along to listen to John Parsons. If you weren't able to make it, we have purchased the book and are very happy to lend it out. John has some very strong messages about keeping children safe online.
I have listened to John a number of times, and I pick up new things every time. We have very active social media pages for Omihi and I make sure I follow John’s advice on these. I never put children’s last names with their photos. I seek permission from parents, plus I regularly talk to the children about what I'm putting on social media. One of the things John talks about is showing children the photos before they go online and making sure they are ok with them. This shows them that their identity has value, they own it and have power, control and influence over what is done with it. Here are a few of his messages:
Empower our children to live in the online world safely and ethically
Educate our children to understand the value of self, to respect and protect family and friends and to broadcast decency and positive values across the internet
Encourage children to remember your family values when they are online.
Teach children to be ‘powerful and connected’ online. Share photos online that show them with family, friends, their school. Not photos that show they are vulnerable.
Help your children create a positive online profile. This is where future employees will be looking when they apply for jobs. Being a part of school websites, Facebook, etc is a great way to do this.
If your child has a social media account, ensure it is private and you are a part of it. They shouldn't have more friends online than they know in real life.
Ask your child what they have been doing online. Take an interest. Find out about the online games, social media if you don't know much about them. Keep an open line of communication with them and don’t overreact if you see something that alarms you. Make sure the games are appropriate. There are a number of R18 games that young children are playing.
Teach your child never to give out private information online - just like you would in the real world.
Keep devices out of the bedroom
Reading the book there are so many more helpful things I could write here. Get in touch. Borrow the book and read it for yourself. We are off to Queenstown for our senior camp this week. We are looking forward to all of the amazing experiences Miss Lotz has planned and will share them with you via social media.
Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas, Principal
P: 03 314 5857 E: principal@omihi.school.nz
School Notices
Grandparents Day
Thank you to all of our wonderful grandparents that came along to school last week. We loved having you at our school.
Bus Driver
We have been lucky enough to have Sue Parish driving our bus for the last 35 years. Sue will be continuing this next year, but is looking for someone who may like to job share later in the year and then potentially take over the bus run. If you might be interested in this and being a relief driver for us, please contact me on principal@omihi.school.nz.
Principal’s Award
Congratulations to Zoe Wiltshire who received the latest Principal award.
Wellbeing Survey
If you haven't already, please remember to fill out the wellness survey that we emailed out a couple of weeks ago.
Omihi Fundraiser
Thank you for all of the support for our Omihi fundraiser. This is the last week to purchase tickets. If you haven't done so yet, either pop into school or go to our Givealittle page. Tickets will be drawn at the end of the week. Any ticket money or unsold tickets need to be returned asap please. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page and next newsletter. Prizes can be collected from school or we will organise for delivery if you are out of town.
School Calendar
Remember to keep an eye on our school calendar on our website to keep up to date with things going on. It's a busy time of year. If you would like me to share the google calendar with you so you can have it on your phone, just let me know.
School Working Bee
We have a school working bee on Saturday 9th December at 8am. We haven’t managed to find many people that are interested in helping with the gardens. If you are able to come down for an hour or so, we would love your support.
End of Year Prize giving
This is on Thursday 14th December at 11am. All of the community are most welcome to attend. This is our final day for the year.