Beaver Lake students get clear internet safety messages

Beaver Lake Middle School students left for the February break armed with new insights into internet safety! On Friday, February 17, just before a week of no school classes and the potential of hours of non-school internet access, Principal Josh Almy made sure his students understand just how vulnerable they might be to internet predators. The Friday assembly followed weeks of carefully organized training sessions for parents and teachers.

In her no-holds-barred message, Sgt. Leanne Shirley of the Seattle Police Department and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force described the dark underbelly of the internet. With very clear examples including a picture of 14-year-old "Jenny" who turned out to be "Jim" - a 40 year old criminal - she emphasized that internet strangers can take on any personality or gender they wish and pose as a friend and peer.

Sgt. Shirley gave the students tools - ways to design screen names and profiles that don't inadvertently give information that can be traced through internet data bases. She reminded them that seemingly anonymous flippant comments in a chat room might anger someone "not wound quite right" - as was the case with a Maryland predator who started with only a screen name to track down the real name, address, phone number, and school of a teen who told him to "get a life" when he asked for her age, sex, and location in a chat room.

Students left school and started vacation with a packet of safety materials, a list of ways to stay safe online, and assurance that the adults in their lives care deeply about their safety.

Resources from the presentation are available on line at www.theinternetandyourchild.org