Yik Yak App Parent Warnings

High schools parents and students are being warned about the dangers of using a social media app called "Yik Yak."

The app, which can best be described as a cross between Twitter and Snapchat, allows students to post anonymous comments to other users within a 5-to-10-mile radius. Introduced a few months ago as the "anonymous social wall for anything and everything," it has quickly gone the way of Ask.fm and Kik -- becoming used by teenagers to cyberbully their peers.

High schools across the country have been cautioning parents and banning the use of the app on their networks. However, students are still able to access the app by turning off their Wi-Fi and using their cell service.

MyFoxChicago reported that letters were sent home to parents. Lake Forest High School was "working with our legal counsel and the local authorities to see what recourse we have against individuals who have posted items that are harmful to individuals and disruptive to our school setting," according to MyFoxChicago.

Amid cyberbullying worries, Yik Yak's co-founder told the Chicago Tribune that the company was disabling the app in the Chicago area and will try to prevent it from being used on high school or middle school campuses.

"The app was made for users college-age and above," Brooks Buffington said in an email to the Tribune, referring to the age requirement that users must be 17 years old to download the app.

A high school in Massachusetts was also affected, after being evacuated twice on Tuesday after someone posted threats on the social media app, according to CBS Boston.

Marblehead police are currently working with local police in Mobile, Ala., where a similar case was reported. Yik Yak helped the Mobile police find the users responsible, showing that for an app that touted itself to be anonymous, it wasn't so anonymous after all.

Ashley Rains, a public affairs officer in the Mobile Police Department, told CBS Boston that parents really need to be aware of the app.

"If you want your child to use it, make sure you know what they're reading and what they're posting because this app can really be taken too far," Rains told CBS Boston. "Just immature juveniles that think they are playing a prank."

 

© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

 

More information can be found at  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-warned-about-yik-yak-app-amid-bullying-concerns/

Elective Registration Information

Allatoona Students:

Future Allatoona Freshmen received a registration handbook and an invitation to Allatoona's Rising Freshman Parent Night.  Students are required to select three elective choices plus two alternates.  Year long classes such as band, chorus, orchestra, and ROTC count as two selections.  These forms are due Wednesday the 26th to Dr. Deane.

North Cobb Students:

Future North Cobb Freshmen students received an elective class selection brochure to use with parents to help determine which electives they would like to have next year.   Students received copies of the brochure February 10th.  Students are required to pick six classes ranked in order of preference.  Eight should be selected if the student desires to take a foreign language. 

 

Counselors from the high school helped transfer class selections from the brochure to an elective registration form.  At the request of the high school, the elective registration form was completed at school and will not be sent home with students.

North Cobb staff will combine core subject teacher recommendations with courses selected on the elective registration form during the month of March.  Tentative schedules will be printed and sent home for parent approval in April.

Pebblebrook Magnet Applications and Audition Dates

Pebblebrook magnet applications are due to Dr. Deane by Friday, February 21^st.  

The Pebblebrook auditions will be held Wednesday, February 26, 2014 26^th  at 1:00 PM in the Awtrey Theater.

Rescheduled Allatoona High School 8th Grade Parent Information Night

The Allatoona High School 

8^th Grade Parent Information Night 

has been rescheduled for Monday, February 24

at 6:30 p.m.

in the Allatoona High Theater.  

 

Camp Kesem for Children Whose Parents Have or Had Cancer

Camp Kesem is a free, week-long overnight summer camp for children whose parents have or have had cancer. The camp, held at Blue Ridge Camp in Mountain City, GA from June 7th to June 13th, 2014 has 35 open spots remaining for campers this year.  

Camp Kesem is organized by University of Georgia student volunteers under the guidance of its Advisory Committee and Camp Kesem National, its parent organization. University of Georgia students serve as counselors and work year-long to fundraise and plan for the week, as well as undergo over forty hours of extensive training prior to camp. The Camp Kesem program model was founded in 2000 at Stanford University. Since then it has grown into a national organization, with over 50 camps planned for the summer of 2014.

Campers participate in a host of fun activities including sports, drama, arts & crafts, team-building, scavenger hunts and talent shows. In addition, each night before bed, the campers have “Cabin Chat,” a time for the campers to talk and open up to their peers and counselors.

Children who have a parent who has or had cancer often lack sufficient external support because they are neither physically ill nor visibly distinct from others. The complexity of emotions they experience can easily go without attention. It is often challenging for these children to find peers with whom they can relate, resulting in feelings of isolation and fear.

“It gives both my child and myself a week to spread our wings separate from each other. He’s exactly where he wants to be, surrounded by kids in similar situations and the warmth and support of the counselors,” says a parent of camper, age 12.

Camper applications and more information on Camp Kesem at UGA can be found at http://campkesem.org/uga.