Cyber-bullying and Internet Safety Workshop

The counseling department at VHS has organized a free workshop open to the whole community for parents on the topics of internet safety and cyber-bullying. This workshop is being offered as part of their Parent University Program.

I’m excited they’ve chosen to cover this topic because it is such an important one, and one that we’ve heard from parents is a significant concern for them. The internet offers a valuable tool for student learning, and we utilize it as much as possible. However, we are also aware of the dangers.

We’ve all heard the news stories…predators targeting children online, young people being stalked through social media, cyber-bullying, and sexting. Within our own community, we’ve seen the realty of these threats. As parents and educators, we all want our children and our students to be safe and protected while still enjoying the benefits of online communities, learning, and social media.

The workshop will be led by Dr. Lisa Kovach. She is an associate professor at the University of Toledo, co-chair of the university’s Anti-Bullying Task Force, Director of the Ohio Bully Police USA, and a trainer with the US Department of Defense on campus violence prevention and protection. She has also authored the book, School Shootings and Suicides: Why We Must Stop the Bullies. You can learn more about her HERE.

During this parent workshop, Dr. Kovach will discuss:

• The mental development of teenagers and how that plays into bullying and sexting
• How schools and communities need to respond to bullying
•  Parenting styles linked to bullying behavior
•  Campus safety resources for students going away to college

The parent workshop will be on Tuesday, November 17^th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm in the Vermilion High School Auditorium. We welcome all parents and community members who are interested to join us. Students are also welcome to attend, but Dr. Kovach will be discussing sensitive topics.

For our Vermilion families, Dr. Kovach will also be doing presentations during the day for our 8^th – 12^th graders. Our 8^th and 9^th graders will be learning more about the causes and consequences of bullying, what to do if they witness bullying, the lasting impact of bullying/cyber-bullying, and share stories. The 11^th and 12^th graders will be discussing bullying/cyber-bullying, civil rights issues, resources for bullying on college campuses, and share stories.

While the student workshops are currently only being offered at the high school, the counseling departments are working on possibly offering one at the middle school as well. In the meantime, we want to welcome all parents to attend our parent workshop. It is never too early to start learning how you can help keep your children safe online.

If you have any questions about this workshop, you can contact Mrs. Erin Smith in our High School Counseling Department.