From the Director of Student Wellbeing (Secondary)

Carly Ryan Foundation Presentation

In Week 10 of last term, Liz and Evie from the Carly Ryan Foundation came to speak with the Year 9 students, as part of their work on Responsible Decision-Making and Navigating the Online World.

Students engaged in a 1-hour workshop developed in collaboration with Project Connect, an online safety curriculum.  The session addressed three overarching themes – self-protective behaviours, safety and online challenges, resources and where to seek help.

Students were able to debrief with their Pastoral Care teachers after the session to unpack the key content and identify some important takeaways.

Students from Ms Bowman’s class reflected:

“I learnt about the backstory about the Carly Ryan Foundation and the story behind it, and how they made Carly’s law. I also learnt about how to safely navigate around the internet in terms of privacy, safety, and communication.”

“I learnt that many things we do on our devices seem safe but can be used to get information.  Even having our location on, while using social media, can be unsafe, since anyone can hack into it. I need to check my settings and cookies more. I also learnt that some apps pose as a company, but really just data mine.”

“Something that I learnt was that I should read the Terms and Conditions to see how much of my personal data the app knows and to not trust people that you have only met online.”

“We learnt about the dangers of online chatting and social media safety from a new perspective. It was interesting to hear from someone only a few years older than us who wasn’t telling us off but helping us navigate these things.”

“I learnt that digital footprint really exists. I always thought it was something to scare teenagers, but everything you put online will always stay online, no matter what, even if you didn’t save the video”. 

For families wanting to access further resources, we encourage you to head to the Carly Ryan Foundation website where there are a series of Factsheets to support young people and their families with navigating the online space. App Fact Sheets | The Carly Ryan Foundation

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