Please note the next surgery will be held on Saturday the 27th March in the Bistro please enter via The Valley leisure centre. The session will commence at 1030am and finish at 1200hrs all appointments will be of 15 min duration.
To book an appointment please contact Ian Norman 01303 277161 ext 2253 or e-mail ian.norman@pent-valley.kent.sch.uk
I just wanted to send you a quick email commending your students and staff. Yesterday Ian Norman, Vicky Standing and 5 of your recently trained Cybermentors came and spoke about their experiences at Maidstone School Anti-Bullying Conference. The students were exceptionally well behaved and despite their nerves, they gave a confident and thought provoking presentation which really helped to set the e-Safety scene and highlight the importance of Cyberbullying to all those present.
The feedback I received from the delegates and the event organisers was excellent and the students and staff are a real credit both to themselves and to your school.
I’m due to meet with Ian next week and we’d like to nominate the young people for a nationally recognised award, “The Diana Awards” for their contribution to anti-bullying work.
Many thanks once again and I look forward to working with your staff and students again soon
Rebecca Avery
e-Safety Officer
Kent County Council
Pent Valley Technology College and St Mary’s Church of England Primary School are proposing to enter into a formal and statutory collaboration from September 2010.
This is an exciting and innovative link between the two schools aimed at improving the opportunities and experiences for students at both schools. Both schools share a determination to ensure that every one of its students will achieve their full potential.
Parents and students from both schools are invited to add their views to this blog. Parents of children from st Mary’s have already received details from their school about this proposal. Pent Valley parents will receive these details this week.
It is hoped that this blog will add to the current consultation which both schools are currently undertaking.
There are many tools available that parents can employ to guide their children to safe and rewarding online experiences. There are also many different types of tools that may fit your family’s needs and values. There are a lot to choose from. Here are some tips for choosing the tool or tools that are right for your family.
There are several types of tools that are most searched for by GetNetWise users. Below, are some predefined searches for tools that users ask for most often. Search for tools that …
In an effort to continue to improve communications between school and home, we are launching Head Teacher Surgeries from January 2010.These surgeries will be held on Saturdays, and will allow parents and families to come in and meet directly with the Head Teacher on issues relating to their children, the school generally or community issues.
Please note the next surgery will be held on Saturday the 27th March in the Bistro please enter via The Valley leisure centre. The session will commence at 1030am and finish at 1200hrs all appointments will be of 15 min duration.
To book an appointment please contact Ian Norman 01303 277161 ext 2253 or e-mail ian.norman@pent-valley.kent.sch.uk
Future sessions will be held on 22nd May,17th July
Beatbullying, the UK’s leading bullying prevention charity is tackling the UK’s cyberbullying epidemic head-on with the launch of CyberMentors, the first nationwide online peer-mentoring social networking site.
Founded in 1999, Beatbullying empowers young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities, and builds the capacity of local communities to sustain the work. Beatbullying has directly and indirectly worked with 700,000+ young people over the last five years, assisting and supporting young people that are being bullied, re-educating and changing the behaviour of young people that bully, and preventing bullying in schools and communities across the UK. CyberMentors is a Beatbullying project.
Research conducted by Beatbullying with over 2000 young people aged between 11 and 18 has uncovered a growing epidemic, with over one in three revealing that they have been the victim of cyberbullying. The three most common digital environments for cyberbullying were found to be mobile text messages, prank mobile phone calls and content posted on social networking sites. Beatbullying’s research also reveals a worrying gender divide, with teenage girls up to four times more likely to be the victims of bullying over digital channels compared to teenage boys.
For the first time, young people suffering at the hands of cyberbullying can seek immediate help and advice from other young people – CyberMentors – online at www.cybermentors.org.uk. CyberMentors will offer advice and support, but in severe cases where someone could be in immediate danger, will refer it to a Beatbullying cyber counsellor, who will take appropriate action to protect the individual from further attacks.
Thirty students from Pent Valley Technology College, across Year groups 7-13, plus five Year 6 students from St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, will attend the two day course.
The training will be carried out in school, by practitioners from BeatBullying, and will result in the implementation of a Cybermentoring Scheme at Pent Valley .
Last year we urged parents to help their kids set their privacy settings in whatever social networking service they used (See the How-To Video Tutorials here). We urged kids to turn the privacy settings to “Friends Only.” Well, things change really quickly on the Internet and Facebook has changed how users can access their privacy settings and even the settings themselves. So, still take our advice about changing your kids’ settings to “friends only” but note that the path to making privacy changes has changed. To get to your Facebook privacy settings simply select in the top right hand corner next to your profile name “Settings” and pull down the menu and select “Privacy Settings.” In our dated How To Video Tutorial “Privacy” was right up at the top, now you just need to take that extra step and select “Settings.” See photo here.
But it really is worth noting that Facebook has expanded the category of what is known as “Personally Available Information.” This is information that users cannot restrict from others. It used to be that in order to find each other on a “social network” you could see each other’s name, networks and fan listings. Now Facebook has expanded that list to include things like a user’s city, gender, photograph, the profile pages you are a fan of, and friends list. So, be aware that you really can’t control whether others see that information about you or your children.
What to do? We recommend taking a different look at what info your teen is sharing by taking a step back. First, log out of Facebook and search for your teen’s name on Facebook through Facebook search and other Web search engines. Take a look and see what you find. Then log in to Facebook as a non-friend of your teen and search for her name and see what information about her you can find. Make notes on what you can see and what you can’t. Third, and most important, talk with your teen about what you have found. Actually, we recommend performing the above search process together.
If changes are needed go into the “Privacy Settings” and make changes. If you and your teen don’t like how much information about her and her friends must be shared as “Personally Available Information,” write to Facebook.
The school is open.
Please note Year 11 Parent consultation evening is cancelled.
Are you a parent of a year 11 student and not yet booked your appointment for tommorow evening?
It’s not too late to book. The evening starts at 15:30.
Please ring your son/daughters mini school.
In an effort to continue to improve communications between school and home, we are launching Head Teacher Surgeries from January 2010.These surgeries will be held on Saturdays, and will allow parents and families to come in and meet directly with the Head Teacher on issues relating to their children, the school generally or community issues.
Please note the first surgery will be held on Saturday the 23rd January in the Bistro please enter via The Valley leisure centre. The session will commence at 1030am and finish at 1200hrs all appointments will be of 15 min duration.
To book an appointment please contact Ian Norman 01303 277161 ext 2253 or e-mail ian.norman@pent-valley.kent.sch.uk
Future sessions will be held on March 27th, May 22nd
