Welcome to April 2009 at Loper!

Even though it is cold today - by the end of this month we should have SPRING!!

April also holds Alcohol Awareness week. We have a very visible sign of this recognition at Loper! In the fall, some of the students planted orange tulips in the flower bed in the front of our school. They are coming up and hopefully will bloom soon. Orange is the color to remind us of being alcohol free.

As in most things, your example is the one that speaks loudest to your children! Talk about responsible use of alcohol as an adult and model it for your children. They will thank you.

Summer Camps ...... Now is the time to research summer camp opportunities for your child. A good website for resources is www.mysummercamps.com I will pass on more information as I receive it!

INTERNET SAFETY In December I spoke to your children in their classrooms about internet safety. Please contact me if you would like more information about this topic.

The internet has been described as the modern day wild, wild west. It can be full of excitement and adventure, but also danger and bandits. Every home where children have access to the internet needs a Sheriff! Otherwise we have children who are just a few keystrokes away from potentially harming themselves or others—if for no reason other than the Sheriff is asleep. Even though this issue does not directly affect children while they are at school, we at Loper want our students to be safe in the real world and the virtual world. We want parents to have information to help them deal with this issue. Even though it may seem early to introduce this information, since many of you may not allow your children access to the internet, we know that we must introduce and reinforce concepts over time in order to ensure children’s safety.

Keep your children safe. Set your rules for internet use, then review and reinforce repeatedly. Monitor their use of the computer and have it in a visible place in your home. Install a filter that blocks adult content. Inform the children that it in on and that you will also be checking their history and possibly tracking where they have been online.

A good book for information: Cyber Bullying by Kowalski, Limber and Agatston Websites with information about internet safety and cyber bullying: www.thesafeside.com www.blogsafety.com www.wiredsafety.net www.cyberbullyhelp.com www.netsmart.org www.ikeepsafe.org www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org