St. Francis School
Computer Technology
and Internet Acceptable Use Policy
We are pleased to bring Computer Technology and Internet
access to the students of St. Francis School. Computers, their software and
the Internet are valuable research tools, and provide many opportunities for
students to communicate and share information. On-line resources can be used
to educate, inform, communicate, and entertain. As a learning tool it is
similar to books, magazines, video, CD-ROM, and other information sources.
Students and teachers have access to other individuals, government
documents, social and scientific data, library sources, and many other types
of information.
With this great resource access comes the availability of material that is
either controversial in nature or of no educational value to the students of
St. Francis School. The principal and faculty understand this and have taken
precautions to control student access. At this time, there is a site
filtration and blocking system in place, which meets the approval of the
principal and the advisory school board. This filter locks out all sites
that have been deemed inappropriate to all persons using school computers.
In addition to this precaution, teachers will be present when students use
computers and the Internet.
St. Francis School has
implemented a sophisticated Internet blocking and filtering software package
supplied by Websense Enterprise (http://www.websense.com). It is currently
operating on all computers that request Internet web pages. Websense
Enterprise software enables the school to monitor, report and manage how
their staff and students use the Internet. This is meant to support the
school's efforts to improve student safety, conserve network bandwidth and
identify areas of weakness so that corrective measures can be swiftly
implemented.
The current policy
actively blocks Internet content that fits the following categories St.
Francis School has no plans of offering electronic mail (email) services to
any students. Usage of the school computers and availability of the Internet
to students of St. Francis School rests upon the proper conduct of each
student who must follow the guidelines set forth in this handbook. Please
review these guidelines so that you fully understand the responsibilities
your child will have. If a student violates any of these provisions,
Internet access or even computer access may be denied to that student.
General Terms and Conditions
The purpose of Internet access is to provide educational
resources and the opportunity for collaborative work. Transmission of any
material that does not meet these purposes is a violation of the policy. The
use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use will
result in cancellation of the privilege. The teacher in charge will decide
what is appropriate use, and his or her decision is final. Appropriate use
will always be in keeping with Catholic Christian values:
1. Students will report any misuse to the teacher in charge. Misuse is
considered to be any exchange of information or messages that indicate or
suggest racism, sexism, inappropriate language, or any site that is deemed
inappropriate by the teacher in charge, as outlined by the above listed
blocking criteria.
2. Rules for network
etiquette will be followed. Students are considered representatives of our
school community and rules for politeness will be practiced at all times.
3. Students will not reveal their home address or telephone number or that
of any other members of our school including students, faculty and staff.
4. Data transmission over the St. Francis School computer network is not
guaranteed to be private. Students should not send anything they do not want
others to know about. St Francis routinely logs all traffic flows and
records all Internet usage.
5. Copying another person's work on the Internet and claiming it is a
student's original work is a violation of the United States copyright law.
If a student uses another person's text or graphics, he or she must ask
permission when it is possible and credit the author and the source.
The consequence for any inappropriate use outlined in this policy is
cancellation of Internet privileges. It may also include the loss of
computer usage within the school.
