Enter Week Three. A focus on safety and social media.

As we begin week three I am excited to say that things at the middle school continue to amaze me. I am impressed with how the 7th and 8th grade students interact with one another in a positive way. I am excited to see classrooms that are rich with learning experiences to push students in their educational journey. And, I am looking forward to attending the volleyball games this week.

This week, I want to take a moment to focus on safety. In an effort to make our school a safe place, I will periodically use this blog to write about challenges our middle school teens face when it comes to the digital world, peer pressure, friendships, bullying, and any other topic around safety that your child could be faced with as they continue through the middle years. This weeks safety post will highlight social media use with our teens.

The middle school level is a time when all students begin to push their boundaries, and demand more independence. Often times, this is when our students are able to gain some freedom as well, and one of the ways that many students experience their first taste of independence is through the use of a personal cell phone. Cell phones are incredible devices, that allow us to stay connected with one another, explore new worlds through a simple Google search, and document anything we want on our many social media sites. However, with this device there are also many things that you can be aware of to make sure to protect your child. Common Sense Media recently released an article, "15 Apps and Websites Kids are Heading to After Facebook", all about the post-Facebook era teenager. In this article 15 social media apps/websites are described to give parents a bit more information about the type of apps your child could be downloading on their smart phones, or other electronic devices. Because this is many of our students first exposure to some of these sites, it is important to have conversations with them about the positives that come with social media sites, and the dangers of social media. A specific focus on bullying and social media, and the public nature of what is posted are great conversation starters when discussing social media etiquette.

The most common sites that come across my desk are Kik, Instagram, and Snapchat. These three social media sites tend to be the place where I have seen bullying and inappropriate posts occur. As we partner together to make sure that our students are safe both in the physical and virtual world, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding social media sites and your child. I would be happy to provide you with additional resources, or to sit down with you and chat about some of the social media sites that are readily available for your child.

General Announcements to Parents:

• Freeland High School Travel Club: Current 8th graders for informaiton on the 2017 London and Paris trip please visit our Travel Club site and contact Mindi Hannon at hannonm@freelandschools.net with further questions
• Please save your box tops and bring them into the middle school. We are currently collecting box tops for purchasing new PE equipment.
• There is a parent meeting for all interested 6th-8th parents on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7:00pm in the cafeteria at the middle/high school to introduce our new math program, Glencoe Math.