Dear Families,
This past week it has come to the school’s attention that many of our students have TikTok accounts on their phones, tablets, or other devices. TikTok is an app, however it can be accessed on a computer through a web browser such as Chrome. We have found that many of our students have public TikTok accounts, not realizing that this meant that anyone in the world can see their videos, even without having a TikTok account, download them, and do whatever they want with them. We have also found that many of our students have several TikTok accounts with different user names. The adults at school have begun having conversations with our older students about Social Media, and TikTok in particular.
We wanted to share some information about TikTok with our families, so that the adults have an understanding of what risks may be associated with using the app:
- TikTok is currently the #1 concern for many state and federal police and cyber crime units. It’s a huge source of child pornography, and is a favorite place for pedophiles to create fake accounts and stalk children online. This is part of the reason why TikTok changed the account rules for people under the age of 13: they can *view* curated content (i.e. parent-approved), but not *create* videos if under 13. This is only true if they admit that they are under 13 when they create their account. We found that many of our students lied about their age when creating accounts.
- The U.S. government has been investigating TikTok because of serious concerns the company is sharing users’ data with the Chinese government. The TikTok database is also not very secure, making it easy for hackers to gain access to user data – including the videos posted there.
- TikTok has a third party agreement. This means that when you create an account, you are agreeing that they own all of your information and the content you create, and can share it with other companies, etc.
- If a child lies about their age when creating a TikTok account, pretending to be over 13 so they can create their own video and get “followers,” what’s to stop an adult from also lying about their age and pretending to be a youngster in order to gain access to kids online?
- Posting images and names of students online, especially when also identifying them as living in Winooski, is incredibly dangerous. This is a pedophile’s dream. We may have parents or families who have fled conflicts/violence, or are hiding from abusive family members; posting these videos makes it easy for those seeking to harm our families to find where they live.
- TikTok has clear rules and age restrictions; for every person who breaks these rules for something “harmless” there is another person breaking the rules for something more dangerous.
- Some language used in these videos is highly inappropriate and some crosses over into cyberbullying.
- Please know that when your child has hundreds of followers, many of those people are not who they seem to be.
I know that TikTok is a popular app, and for the most part many of our students use it in a very innocent way. I would highly encourage our families to check your student’s devices frequently, and have serious conversations with them about all social media, including Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, and TikTok.
Our annual Big Change roundup contest is going strong! This year, the staff member that raises the most money gets to wear a tutu hippo outfit for the day. The big reveal will be March 27th during our All School morning Meeting. We encourage all of our families to join us that morning! Three weeks into the contest, here are the current standings:
| Staff Member | Total | |
| Sarah | Murphy | 4.7 |
| Amanda | Babcock | 6.98 |
| Katie | Letourneau | 7.18 |
| Sara | Raabe | 9.52 |
| Jacie | Knapp | 12.87 |
| Courtney | Bryan | 20.2 |
| Grace | Holcomb | 37.84 |
| Angela | Moulton | 38.93 |
| Andy | Schlatter | 63.84 |
| Sally | Bisonette | 109.96 |
| Kari | Bohlen | 224.8 |
| Liz | Parris | 708.76 |
| Current School Total | 1245.58 | |
Keep sending that change in!
Have a fantastic vacation. We will see everyone on March 4th at 8 am!
Sara Raabe
JFK Principal
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Upcoming Important Date
Monday, February 24th – Tuesday, March 3rd – No School
Friday, March 13th – Fun Fair 4:30 – 6:30 pm
Wednesday, March 18th– PTO Meeting, 5:30 in the library
Thursday, March 19th – 11:00 am Early Dismissal with activities
Friday, March 20th – 11:00 am Early Dismissal with activities
Friday, March 27th – All School Morning Meeting and Big Change Roundup Reveal 8:15 am