An incident of cyberbullying (‘digital’ bullying) has come up this week. Like most children of their age, our students are very active on digital devices so there is always going to be some risk associated. Certain apps have more security features than others, and unfortunately not all of the safer apps work in our region! One app that isn’t very secure is KIK, which can operate on any digital device and does not require a mobile number. Students can pretend to be anyone or even be anonymous. They can easily join a group and act inappropriately or abusively without being identified. On Wednesday morning, we held an assembly and discussed cyberbullying, the risks involved, and shared practical advice on how students can protect themselves.
Our recommendation to all parents is to keep an eye on what children are doing. The school does not take a position on whether you should be checking phones to see what students are up to, however we do strongly recommend that you talk to students about what they are doing and their experience of social media. If you have any concerns or questions then please contact Mr. Wolf, Mr Kearney, or myself and we’ll do our best to help. Here’s a link to a useful site on this topic: http://cyberbullying.us/resources/parents/
Like the rest of Oman, we celebrated National Day on Tuesday. It was a lovely experience to participate and celebrate 44 years of peace, prosperity and extraordinary development. Aisha Muqbali gave a lovely presentation to Secondary students about the history of Oman and shared some interesting facts about the Sultan. In 1970 there were only three schools in Oman and now there’s more than a 1000! This is an incredible achievement and Al Batinah International School is proud to be a member of this family.
Start making those plans for the long weekend now that it is official!
Featured image taken from www.stopcyberbullying.org
