Dear Parents,
Good Shepherd Parish and School
participate in the Diocese of Evansville Safe Environment Program as part of
our continued efforts to provide a safe environment for children. We include an educational component for the
children.
Using the Diocesan Safe
Environment Curriculum as a guide, Officer Friendly Rob Waller, will present
the components of personal safety to all students. Officer
Waller’s presentation will be given to grades 5-8 on Monday, October 15 and
grades K-4 on Tuesday, October 23.
Kristen Girten and Elizabeth Murray will also use the Diocesan Safe
Environment Curriculum as a guide to generate a presentation on computer and
Internet safety for all students.
Homeroom teachers present other components of the curriculum in their
classrooms.
Because our parents are the
primary educators of their children, we offer some ideas to help parents start
this conversation with your children.
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Encourage the
“buddy system” into children’s everyday lives – riding bicycles, going to the
mall and playing at the park, etc.
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Teach that they
never answer the door unless they know the person.
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Have emergency
numbers, including the phone number of a friend or neighbor, if they are home
alone. When answering the phone, avoid
telling callers that their parents are not home.
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Never go anywhere
with anyone without permission of child’s parent or teacher. It’s is particularly stressful for school
personnel when another parent takes their child’s friend home without notifying
the parent or teacher.
Computer and Internet Safety
We encourage you to visit
some of the sites listed below in order to learn more about Internet safety for
our children.
www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
Parents need to remind their
children of the Diocesan Internet Acceptable Use Policy and Code of Christian
Conduct and how they apply to student’s use of the Internet and how it can
involve school when inappropriate choices are made. We encourage parents to have your children
show you what they are doing on the Internet, what their pages look like, and
so on.
Parental software
You may wish to make yourself
familiar with some excellent parental software that is available at the
following sites:
The school requests that you cover the
following topics with your children, especially in the primary grades, as the
topics need to be shared in individual settings:
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Remind them to
check first with their teacher, parent, or other trusted adults before they
accept a gift from anyone. Also never
accept a ride from someone they do not know or someone who makes them feel
uncomfortable.
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Instruct them to
get away as quickly as they can if someone is following them, and to inform a
trusted adult about what happened.
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Stress to your
child that they must ignore requests from strangers who claim that they are a friend
of yours and try to lure them into leaving school or home. It is suggested that you use a code word with
your child to denote safety
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Discuss with them
that even though touch can be a wonderful way to express caring, sometimes they
may not feel comfortable being touched, or some touches may make them feel
uncomfortable.
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Instruct your
child to tell a parent, teacher or trusted adult if someone tries to touch them
in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable, especially if the touch involved
the private body parts.
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Emphasize to your
children that it is very important to NOT KEEP secrets about touching, even if
someone made them promise not to tell anyone.
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Help assist the
children how to differentiate between safe, unsafe, and unwanted touches. You can explain to them that there will be
consequences and help for people who touch children in an inappropriate way
The diocesan Safe Environment
Curriculum will cover the following:
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Computer Safety
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Environmental
Safety
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Interpersonal
Safety
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Touching Safety
If you plan to volunteer to
work with youth of our parish / school, you are required to attend the youth
protection safe environment training. A component
of this training is a request for background check.
A Youth Protection Safe Environment Training: Monday,
October 29 at
Please contact the school
office if you have any questions or concerns, 476-4477.
Together we can make a
difference for children,
Judy VanHoosier Mark Schuler
Principal Dean
of Students
Youth Protection Coordinator