Lower School Guidance
Welcome to the Lower School Guidance page! The Lower School Guidance program at Pinewood offers developmentally appropriate instruction and support services to students in Pre-K3 through Grade 5. We hope you find this page helpful and informative. The purpose of this page is to provide you with a central location to find information about our ongoing guidance curriculum at Pinewood and to provide you with information and support resources. The page will be updated on a continual basis. Please feel free to email Anna Bright (Guidance Counselor) if you have any questions or if there is a topic you would like to see covered.
A child’s emotional development is as important as their academic development. At Pinewood, we strive to educate our students to correctly identify, communicate, and manage their emotions. We also focus on identifying others’ emotions and how to react to those emotions/feelings. It is also important to learn conflict management skills, and how to make and keep friends. We also talk about the importance of rules (at school, in the home, and in our community), and how to work cooperatively in a group. Other important topics covered are the similarities and differences among people and families and recognizing diversity in society. The list could go on and on! Our guidance lessons involve short videos, stories, arts and craft activities, and games that assist children in learning these skills. Check back for monthly updates on these topics!
Topic of the Month
March 2022 - Cyber Security and Safe Internet Usage for All Ages
Hello Lower School Parents!
The topic for March guidance lessons is cyber safety for all grade levels. This is a very important lesson because we live in a very digital world and children are using the internet at a very young age. Since children are accessing the internet at a young age, we need to teach them how to be safe in a child-friendly way.
PK3-PK4- We will watch a very cute video called Hippo and Hedgehog and the Cyber-Five. This video reviews five important rules for internet safety:
- Don’t give out your personal information (name, address, phone number).
- Don’t click on ads or download games without permission from parents.
- Tell your parents about internet bullies, and don’t respond back to a bully.
- Tell your parents to copy and paste mean comments in case they are needed as evidence.
- If you feel uncomfortable with something you see on the internet, tell your parents immediately.
I will then review these rules with the class and answer any questions they may have.
PK5- We will watch the same Hippo and Hedgehog video as the preschool class and review the 5 rules:
- Don’t give out your personal information (name, address, phone number).
- Don’t click on ads or download games without permission from parents.
- Tell your parents about internet bullies, and don’t respond back to a bully.
- Tell your parents to copy and paste mean comments in case they are needed as evidence.
- If you feel uncomfortable with something you see on the internet, tell your parents immediately.
We will also watch two videos by NetSafe which discuss personal information a little more in depth and about being kind online.
1st grade- We will read parts of the book, Cyman Learns Cyber Smarts and Dangers, by Richard Guerry. We will discuss the importance of being careful when you are choosing pictures to share, keeping personal information confidential, and how to be careful when talking to strangers online because you don’t really know who they are (bottom line, don’t talk to strangers online). We will then watch two videos by NetSafe which discuss the importance of keeping personal information confidential and being kind online.
2nd grade- We will read parts of the book, Cyman Learns Cyber Smarts and Dangers, by Richard Guerry. We will discuss what personal information is and how to protect your personal information. The topics of sharing pictures and videos are discussed and how you should think twice before you decide to share. We will also discuss how to be careful and respectful while texting. Finally, we will discuss that meeting people online can be dangerous because we don’t know who the person really is, they could be pretending to be a kid. We will stress the importance of only being friends with people online if we know them in person..
3rd grade- We will read the book, Cyman Learns Cyber Smarts and Dangers, by Richard Guerry. The discussion starts with understanding what it means to have your information be public and permanent. We will discuss what personal information is and how to protect your personal information. We will cover the concept of sharing pictures and videos online, and how you should think twice before you decide to share. We will also discuss how to be careful and respectful while texting. We then discuss social media and how it is important to be kind and not post about where you are in real time. Finally, we will discuss that meeting people online can be dangerous because we don’t know who the person really is, they could be pretending to be a kid. We will stress the importance of only being friends with people online that we know in real life.
4th and 5th grade- We will read the book, Cyman Learns Cyber Smarts and Dangers, by Richard Guerry. The discussion will start with what it means to have your information be public and permanent. We will discuss what personal information is and how to protect your personal information. The topics of sharing pictures and videos will be discussed, and how you should think twice before you decide to share. We will also discuss how to be careful and respectful while texting. We then discuss social media and how it is important to be as kind online as you would be in person. We will also explore the importance of not posting about where you are in real time. We will also consider how what you post in a social media format can quickly and easily become public and permanent. Finally, we will discuss that meeting people online can be dangerous because we don’t know who the person really is, they could be pretending to be a kid. We will stress the importance of only being friends with people online that we know in real life.
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