Today the grades four to six students were part of an assembly led by Simon Choi, a HRA parent and RCMP officer.  Simon spoke to the students about a number of very important topics including stranger danger and internet safety.

I, as a parent, was shocked (and a little scared) to hear the dangers of social media and how that can be used to put our families and loved ones in danger.  As most of us know, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc.) can be used to share pictures and information with our friends and family.  What I did not realize until today was how easily accessible that information (or pictures) is to ALL people.

Simon started one portion of his talk by asking the students who had access to a cell phone or computer.  The next question he asked was who had a computer in their bedroom.  What he shared after that was shocking…did you know that  ‘hackers’ are able to look through the webcam in your computer and see what you are doing?  They can do this whether the computer is on or off.  He strongly suggested that a piece of paper be put over the web cam at all times.

We then followed that assembly up with a very serious and in-depth discussion in class and I strongly encourage you to continue this dialogue with your child at home.  Yesterday Simon talked to the k-3 students about stranger danger and this gave my husband Patrick and I an opportunity to reinforce this with our own kids that evening.  We all want our children to be safe and it is my hope that you will take the time to chat with them about what they learned this morning.

Mrs. Goosen