BRHS Parents and Guardians,
Friday afternoon BRHS students, acting as upstanders, reported that they had knowledge of students creating an Instagram account under the username boothbayhs.confessions.
This account was public (later made private) and asked for our students to follow and then complete and send in a confession about themselves or a classmate via a google form that would immediately be posted on the site for all to see. Another student, who came forward to try to stop this said, "I really hope action is taken, as I know many students are upset about this; and we all want the BRHS community to be a safe, non-judgmental environment for all students.”
Friday afternoon the BRHS Tech Team and I met with and interviewed students. We reported to Instagram and Google. We continued to investigate throughout the day on Saturday. I met with Ms. Manahan, Mrs. Gauthier, Officer Larry Brown and Officer Zach Barry at the Boothbay Harbor Police station to go over the case. The postings were anonymous. We can not access or control what individuals post on social media. However, we will monitor anything that comes into the school and anything that impacts our school community. As we worked, I continued to praise our student upstanders and support the victims as they reached out. I believe that these efforts and our student voices made it back to the creators of the site. Shortly after I returned home from the police station - all of the site's content was removed and then the site was taken down.
The consistent message provided to the students:
This is a terrible and sad action of one or a few and not something BRHS students or school support. There is NO AFFILIATION with Boothbay Region High School. The social media (Instagram) account appears to be sponsored by our school, representing our school has suddenly appeared online using our beloved Seahawk logo and school name. It is NOT. The imposter is using this account in an attempt to engage students to share information about themselves or others.
Imposter social media accounts - sometimes, but not always, created by students, can alarm parents, harm kid’s mental health, disrupt learning, and disrupt the community as a whole. Cyber Safety Rules that we review in school include not responding to messages from strangers and never sharing personal information online. It is important that our students and school community stand together and not engage in these harmful, hurtful activities. Standing together we send a message that we do not tolerate these attacks on members of our school family and community.
Mr. Crocker, the BRHS Tech Team, Officer Brown and Officer Barry and I met with a group of the students this morning who stepped forward to say, “ No, we will not stand for this!”, who represent your voices well through these unacceptable actions of one or a few and every day here at BRHS. As we move forward we will work to send the message that we have no tolerance for attacks against individuals or groups. We are a community that supports each other and respects each other's differences. I am proud of how our students and team supported one another and I appreciate your recognition of who we are and what we want our school culture to be. We are a school family here at BRHS! Seahawk Nation Strong!
We encourage you to speak to your child about these events and share your personal interactions and responses on social media. Continue to be the positive influence in your child’s life and guide them from influencers that promote negative and inappropriate behaviors. If you have any questions or would like to talk more with someone on how best to support your child and internet safety do not hesitate to contact us.
Below I have shared some articles and resources that you may find helpful. Thank you for sharing your student(s) with us and for your support.
Respectfully,
Dr. Campbell
Resources for talking with adolescents about technology :