Anne Hastings – Principal

From the online news feed, ‘Governance’, comes some advice for parents who post photographs of children on social media, including for their own and other children:

‘Care when you share’

‘During Privacy Awareness Week 2017, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is encouraging individuals to care about their privacy and to better inform themselves of what will or what might happen to their personal information before they share it online. There is also a concerted drive to educate adults, particularly parents and guardians, regarding how to safely share photographs of their children online or on social media accounts.

In Australia, children under the age of 18 years are not required under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)(the Act) to give consent to their parents sharing images (personal information) of them online.  But the legal position doesn’t mean that parents should disregard their own child’s wishes.

Generally, it is the image that would could be perceived by the child at a later date as being demeaning or embarrassing. Remember the footprint is there forever. If the child is old enough to be asked for consent and can understand what this means, then this could be argued to be part of the issue and part of the solution…

Asking if your child likes the photos of them and whether you can put it up online can be a very quick and respectful conversation. It also sets up a great approach to your kids understanding digital etiquette.

The massive rise in the use of social media platforms (Facebook has been around for 14 years now) and the increasing use of other social media platforms, such as Instagram has resulted in thousands of images of children, usually by their parents/guardians, being uploaded online…

Of greater concern is that many parents do not consider that there is any possible harm associated with posting images of their child on social media sites. However, this article notes that some of the images could result in online bullying issues as the children get older or, worse than that, end up in the galleries of pedophiles.

Schools are forever reminding parents that although they believe that they have a right to take photographs and images of their own children at school, they have no right to take photographs or images of other people’s children and post the images online. This message should be continually reinforced through school policy and cultural convention.’

So, in short, think carefully about what you post on social media in relation to your own children and never post photos of other children online.

Breakfast with Emanuel

The second in this semester’s series of Breakfasts with Emanuel happens next Wednesday, 25 May. There’s still time to book in for this (see the Community Connections page).

Twilight Music Concerts

This week has seen a number of delightful musical events, with performances from a large number of students to appreciative audiences. Congratulations to every student who performed, and to their teachers and tutors for preparing them so well. Many thanks to Danny Burley who organises these events and accompanies so many students.

Opal cards

All students who travel on the school buses should have their Opal cards. When a student is applying for an Opal Card, the School needs to certify the students’ addresses are correct by matching to the addresses held on our database. Please ensure that any address provided for this purpose is the same as the one on Edumate, or if necessary, update the address on Edumate if it’s wrong. 

 2018 Term dates

For those who are keen to organise their time next year, the 2018 term dates have been posted up on the parent portal, under ‘Calendar’.

 Mazal Tov to

• All those Emanuel School Striders who participated with their mums and grandmas in the Mothers’ Day Classic on Sunday 14 May
• Mr Aron Kleinlehrer on the occasion of his 95^th birthday this week!

Coming up

• Year 7 Study Skills Parents and Students evening, Tuesday 23 May, 6 pm
• Breakfast with Emanuel, Wednesday 24 May, 7:30 am, PwC Barangaroo
• Night of Dangerous Debate, Wednesday 24 May, 6:30 pm, in the Millie Phillips Theatre
• Kenya Experience for Year 8 parents, Wednesday 24 May, 6:30 pm MPH
• Mums@the Movies, Thursday 25 May, 7:15 pm in The Millie Phillips Theatre
• School closes for Shavuot, Tuesday 30 May, 2:50 pm
• School closed for Shavuot, Wednesday 31 May to Friday 2 June (inclusive)
• Music Camp, 5 – 8 June (8 June at Emanuel School)
• Music Camp Concert, Thursday 8 June, 6 pm, MPH

Quote of the week

‘Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.’ [Malala Yousafzai]

Best wishes for a happy weekend!

Shabbat Shalom