<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
    <channel>
        <title>No Bully Zone</title>
        <link>http://nusd.ca.schoolloop.com</link>
        <description></description>

            <item>
                <title>Stop Bullying</title>
                <description><![CDATA[Information and Resources to Help Prevent the Serious Problem of Bullying Bullying has become a tidal wave of epic proportions. Although bullying was once considered a rite of passage, parents, educators, and community leaders now see bullying as a devastating form of abuse that can have long-term effects on youthful victims, robbing them of self-esteem, isolating them from their peers, causing them to drop out of school, and even prompting health problems and suicide. A recent study by the Family and Work Institute reported that one-third of youth are bullied at least once a month, while others say six out of 10 American teens witness bullying at least once a day. Witnessing bullying can be harmful, too, as it may make the witness feel helpless - or that he or she is the next target. Children who are bullied are often singled out because of a perceived difference between them and others, whether because of appearance (size, weight, or clothes), intellect, or, increasingly, ethnic or religious affiliation and sexual orientation. Bullying can also be a gateway behavior, teaching the perpetrator that threats and aggression are acceptable even in adulthood. In one study by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, nearly 60 percent of boys whom researchers classified as bullies in grades six to nine were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24, while 40 % had three or more convictions. What Parents Can Do A big, tough kid stops a smaller kid on his way to school and threatens to hurt him unless he hands over his homework. The popular girls at school won&amp;#39;t let anyone sit at their lunch table except their friends. These two bullying scenarios and others happen more often than most adults realize. Nearly 74% of eight to 11-year-olds say teasing and bullying happen at their school. But what exactly is bullying? Bullying is: &amp;bull; Fighting, threatening, name-calling, teasing, or excluding someone repeatedly and over time &amp;bull; An imbalance of power, such as size or popularity &amp;bull; Physical, social, and emotional harm &amp;bull; Hurting another person to get something Many parents don&amp;#39;t think that bullying is as big a problem as bringing a weapon to school or drug use but its effects can be severe and long lasting. Every day, nearly 160,000 children miss school because they are scared of bullying, according to the National Education Association. Bullying doesn&amp;#39;t only negatively affect its victims, but also the bullies themselves. Kids who are bullied are more likely to &amp;bull; Do poorly in school &amp;bull; Have low self-esteem &amp;bull; Be depressed &amp;bull; Turn to violent behavior to protect themselves or get revenge on their bullies Parents can play a central role to preventing bullying and stopping it when it happens. Here are a few things you can do: &amp;bull; Teach kids to solve problems without using violence and praise them when they do. &amp;bull; Give children positive feedback when they behave well to help their build self-esteem. Help give them the self-confidence to stand up for what they believe in. &amp;bull; Ask your children about their day and listen to them talk about school, social events, their classmates, and any problems they have. &amp;bull; Take bullying seriously. Many kids are embarrassed to say they have been bullied. You may only have one chance to step in and help. &amp;bull; If you see any bullying, stop it right away, even if your child is the one doing the bullying. Encourage your child to help others who need it. Don&amp;#39;t bully your children or bully others in front of them. Many times kids who are bullied at home react by bullying other kids. If your children see you hit, ridicule, or gossip about someone else, they are also more likely to do so themselves. Support bully prevention programs in your child&amp;#39;s school. If your school doesn&amp;#39;t have one, consider starting one with other parents, teachers, and concerned adults. For more information on bullying, visit ]]></description>
                <link>http://nusd.ca.schoolloop.com/news/view?id=1338041109939</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://nusd.ca.schoolloop.com/news/view?id=1338041109939</guid>
                <pubDate>Wed, 9 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
            </item>
        
            <item>
                <title>Social Networking Safety Tips</title>
                <description><![CDATA[It&amp;rsquo;s no question that social networking Web sites are growing rapidly every day. This growing trend of sharing yourself more and more online; safety is often overlooked. Setting forth some safety guidelines will benefit the users of social networks, parents and children. Social Networking Safety Tips &amp;bull; Review the Web site&amp;rsquo;s safety notifications, standards, and learn how to report violating content. Most often it will be disclosed at the registration phase. Otherwise, might be noted at the bottom of the site. This information will educate users about the function of their web site in regard to Internet safety. &amp;bull; Parents: Talk to your children about social networking. Suggested topics to discuss would include not posting private information; explaining what information is private and public, pictures, and declining requests to meet people. &amp;bull; Understand that people are not who they claim they are. You wouldn&amp;rsquo;t reveal your personal details to just anyone, would you? Don&amp;rsquo;t post it on your profile unless you want everyone (including bad people) to see it. Don&amp;rsquo;t agree to meet anyone online unless you specifically know that person. &amp;bull; Parents, if you learn of your child&amp;#39;s intent to meet someone based on an online interaction intervene immediately! This is not a safe practice! If you wish to meet someone, do it safely.This discretion can be a difficult one to judge, but if you do choose to meet someone online, make sure you&amp;rsquo;re in a safe location. Select that is public, indoors, safe and provides either of you the option of &amp;ldquo;running errands&amp;rdquo; if you wish to not meet. Bring a friend with you just to be safe. &amp;bull; Be careful &amp;mdash; Social Networking is a double-edged sword. It&amp;rsquo;s okay to have fun and connect with other people on social networks, but just be alert to the fact that criminals may prey on others. Take precautions to prevent possible negative outcomes. &amp;bull; Setting your profile &amp;lsquo;Private&amp;rsquo; to screen outsiders. Most social networks will permit you to set your profile private to prevent outside individuals from viewing your profile. This enables you to reach out to others who you are friends with, but exclude incoming profile requests. It is strongly suggested parents enforce that their children&amp;rsquo;s profiles remain private. &amp;bull; Maintain your computer&amp;rsquo;s defenses. As a general precaution, it&amp;rsquo;s important to make sure you have an updated anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware and operating system updates. It&amp;rsquo;s been noted previously, some social networking site&amp;rsquo;s advertisements contain malicious code and can infect your computer system. &amp;bull; Don&amp;rsquo;t get &amp;lsquo;Phished&amp;rsquo;. Phishing is a common tactic of spammers to compromise some else&amp;rsquo;s account and send messages purporting their products. Take a moment to understand how to properly login to the social network. Don&amp;rsquo;t click links you didn&amp;rsquo;t ask for or expect. If a link prompts you to log in again &amp;mdash; it&amp;rsquo;s most likely a phishing scam. Research other online internet safety resources. There are plenty of other resources to help you learn more about Internet safety. One place to start is the Connect Safely website at . ]]></description>
                <link>http://nusd.ca.schoolloop.com/news/view?id=1335084770785</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://nusd.ca.schoolloop.com/news/view?id=1335084770785</guid>
                <pubDate>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
            </item>
        

    </channel>
</rss>