Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program

St Mary's has a compulsory Bring Your Own Device Program (BYOD).

Students in grades 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are required to bring a device every day to school. 

BYOD Starts for Year 2 in Term 2.

Supported Devices	Devices (Not Supported)	☑️Tech to-do list before your child brings their device to school. Please read the google account knowledgebase
Please note: Screen Sizes of 14” or above are not recommended. Windows Laptops (8gb Ram Minimum, Brands such as Lenovo, Acer, Dell, etc.) Touch Screens are not recommended as they are easily broken. Replacement screens can cost as much as a new device. 2. Apple Macbook Laptop (8gb Ram Minimum). 3. Chromebooks Please purchase a padded case for all devices. ‘Cover Anywhere’ Insurance The College accepts no responsibility if your child’s device is lost or damaged. We strongly recommend you insure the laptop as part of your household contents policy. Most insurers offer add-ons such as “cover anywhere” insurance for breakage or loss on a computer.	iPads Samsung Tablets	Before your child brings their device to school, please read the Google account knowledgebase. Windows and Mac Laptops 1. Download the Google Chrome Browser. 2. Use your child’s school account to sign in to the chrome browser.  When prompted, press “Save password” on your child’s device. 3. Before your child brings their device to school, please read the Google account knowledgebase. Chromebooks Ensure they run  Chrome OS v123) Use your child’s school account to sign in to the chromebook. When prompted, press “Save password” on your child’s device.

Tips for Parents for a Safe Online Environment for their Children at Home

The Office of the eSafety Commissioner has some information to help parents provide safe online environments for their children at home.

Parents can set up a combination of filtering tools, parental controls on devices, settings within apps and safe search browsers. 

Here are some links;
Tips for parents of young children

An article comparing filters

Filtering Software
Searching Safely

Parental Controls on Devices

Parental controls from internet service providers

Movies and Games

Security - App Settings for Tablets

iParent

Student Elearning Resources

Here is a link to the student's elearning resources website.
https://sites.google.com/syd.catholic.edu.au/stmnselearning/home

Typing Club Help Files

Log in to Typing Club using this address

https://stmarysns.typingclub.com/

Click sign in using your Google account

Are your children using ​the apps ​Instagram, musical.ly, Roblox, Facebook, live.ly or Periscope​ at home?​

Urgent Information about Apps, Cybersafety Resources and a Digital Literacy Survey for Parents

Dear Parents,

Last week, School Principals from our area received up-to-date information on cybersafety at a special meeting held by North Sydney Police. An educator from The Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner, who presented at the meeting, recommended the following information be passed on to parents.

Apps of concern

There are some popular apps causing concern. Within these apps, unless the settings are changed, anyone can have direct contact with your child via live chat. These apps have an age limit of 13+. Dangers such as the potential for online grooming are of concern to Police.

The most popular of these apps are:

Instagram, musical.ly and    Roblox

The eSafety Commissioner’s Website provides an alphabetical listing of apps, with direct links to change privacy settings.. The links also provide safety guides for parents.

Live Video Streaming Apps of Concern

There are a new wave of video streaming apps which provide live streaming from smart phones, tablets and computers. Some of the apps allow the user to stream live video of themselves or others. These apps can geo-tag the user’s location, causing concerns that a child address could be identified by another person if they were to stream live.

The most popular of these apps are:

Facebook, live.ly and Periscope.

The eSafety Commissioner’s Website provides an alphabetical listing of apps, with direct links to change privacy settings.. The links also provide safety guides for parents.

Be aware: the posting of abusive material (videos. photographs and comments) is on the increase nationally.

Incidents of cyberbullying and Image-based abuse are increasing. While it is more prevalent Australia wide in secondary schools, the eSafety Commissioner has reported an increase in complaints received nationally across primary schools.

Reporting of incidents

If you or your child need to report an incident, the eSafety Commissioner has outlined places to go here.

1. Police
As always for all matters requiring urgent attention call 000.

To report any information you can also call Crimestoppers Australia on 1800 333 000.

2. Contact the website directly to remove the content
The eSafety Commissioner has informed us they have set up partnerships with many of the major companies. They have consultants who can respond quickly to incidents and work to ensure that the photograph, video or offensive comment Is removed quickly. This starts the process of removal as soon as possible.

THEN contact

3.. Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner

They have a 24-hour counselling service and the steps to lodge an online report. Here is the  online form.

Settings in Apps

The eSafety Commissioner’s Website provides an alphabetical listing of apps, with direct links to change privacy settings.. The links also provide safety guides for parents.

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Further Resources to assist parents

For further details and resources the eSafety Commissioner’s website has valuable resources to assist families. iParent is a valuable website to bookmark. It is well resourced with videos and games on eSafety for children to view.