General User Policy

St. Bernard's Internet, Web Site, and eChalk Acceptable Use Policy

We are pleased to announce that electronic information services will be available this year to students and teachers in our school.  St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School strongly believes in the education value of such electronic services and recognizes the potential of such to support our curriculum and student learning in our school.  Our goal in providing this service is to promote educational excellence by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communication.  St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School will make every effort to protect students and teachers from any misuses or abuses as a result of their experiences with an information service.  All users must be continuously on guard to avoid inappropriate and illegal interaction with the information service.

Please read this document carefully.  When signed by you and if appropriate, your guardian/parent, it becomes a legally binding contract.  We must have your initials where indicated and your signature and that of your guardian/parent (if you are under 18) before you may use the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School’s electronic information services.

Listed below are the provisions of this contract.  If any user violates these provisions, access to the information service may be denied and you may be subject to disciplinary action.

Terms and Conditions of This Contract

1.       Personal Responsibility.  As a representative of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School, I will accept personal responsibility for reporting any misuse of the network to the system administrator.  Misuse can come in many forms, but it is commonly viewed as any messages(s) sent or received that indicate or suggest pornography, unethical or illegal solicitation, racism, sexism, inappropriate language, and other issues described below.  I understand that all the rules of conduct described in this contract and school policy apply when I am on the network.

2.       Acceptable Use.  The use of my account must be in support of education and research and with the educational goals and objectives of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School as found in school policy.  I am personally responsible for knowing these policies and abiding by them and by this contract provision at all times when using the electronic information service.

A.      Use of other organization’s network or computing resources must comply with rules appropriate to that network.

B.      Trasmission of any material in violation of any United States or other state organizations is prohibited.  This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, threatening or obscene materials, or material protected by trade secret.

C.      Use of commercial activities by for-profit institutions is generally not acceptable.

D.      Use of product advertisement or political lobbying is also prohibited.

E.      I am aware that the inappropriate use of electronic information resources can be a violation of local, state and federal laws and that I can be prosecuted for violating those laws.

3.       Privileges.  The use of the information system is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges.  Electronic system administrator(s), operating under the auspices of the STBCCHS. The administration of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School will decide what is appropriate use and their decision is final.  They system administrator(s) may close an account at nay time deemed necessary.  The administration, staff, or faculty of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High may request that the system administrator deny, revoke, or suspend specific user accounts.        

4.       Network Etiquette and Privacy.  You are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette.  These rules include (but are not limited to) the following:

A.      BE POLITE.  Never send, or encourage others to send, abusive messages.

B.      USE APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE.  Remember that you are a representative of our St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School and district on a non-private system.  You may be alone with your computer, but what you say and do can be viewed globally!  Illegal activities of any kind are strictly forbidden.

C.      PRIVACY.  Do not reveal your home address or personal phone number or the addresses and phone numbers of students or colleagues.

D.      ELECTRONIC MAIL.  Electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private.  Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities must be reported to the authorities.

E.      DISRUPTIONS.  Do not use the network in any way that would disrupt use of the network by others.

F.      OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

1)       Do be brief.  Few people will bother to read a long message.

2)       Do minimize spelling errors and make sure your message is easy to understand and read.

3)       Do use accurate and descriptive titles for your articles.  Tell people what it is about before they read it.

4)       Do get the most appropriate audience for your message, not the widest.

5)       Do remember that humor and satire is very often misinterpreted.

6)       Do remember that if you post to multiple groups, specify all groups in a single message.

7)       Do cite references for any facts you present.

8)       Do forgive the spelling and grammar errors of others.

9)       Do keep signatures brief.

    10)  Do remember that all network users are human beings.  Don’t “attack correspondents; persuade them with facts. 

                11)  Do post only to groups you know.

5.       Services.  St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing.  St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School will not be responsible for any damages suffered while on this system.  These damages include (but are not limited to) loss of data as a result of delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by the system or your errors or omissions.  Use of any information obtained via the information system is at your own risk.  St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School specifically disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of information obtained through its services.

6.       Security.  Security on any computer system is a high priority because there are so many users.  If you identify a security problem, notify the system administrator at once.  Never demonstrate the problem to other users.  Never use another individual’s account without written permission from that person.  All use of the system must be under your own account.  Any user identified as a security risk will be denied access to the information system.

7.       Vandalism.  Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user or any other agencies or networks that are connected to the system.  This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.  Any vandalism will result in the loss of computer services, disciplinary action, and legal referral.

8.       Updating.  The information service requires new registration each year to continue the privilege of using St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School’s electronic information service.

REQUIRED SIGNATURES

Acceptable Use Policy Contract

STUDENT

I understand and will abide by the provisions and conditions of the Acceptable Use Policy.  I understand that any violations of the aforementioned provisions may result in disciplinary action, the revoking of my user account, and appropriate legal action.  I also agree to report any misuse of the information system to the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School system administrator.  Misuse can come in many forms, but can be viewed as any messages sent or received that indicate or suggest pornography, unethical or illegal solicitation., racism, sexism, inappropriate language, and other issues described on previous pages.  All the rules of conduct described in this contract and District policy apply when I am on the network.

Student Name (please print):                                                                              ____

Student Signature:__________________________________________________________

Date:______________________________________________________________________

PARENT OR GUARDIAN

Students must have the signature of a parent or guardian who has read this contract.  As the parent or guardian of this student, I have read this contract and understand that it is designed for educational purposes.  I understand that it is impossible for St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School to restrict access to all controversial materials, and I will not hold the school responsible for materials acquired on the network.  I also agree to report any misuse of the information system to St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School system administrator.  Misuse can come in many forms, but can be viewed as any messages sent or received that indicate or suggest pornography, unethical or illegal solicitation, racism, sexism, inappropriate language, and other issues described on previous pages.

Parent Name (please print):                                                                              _____

Parent Signature:___________________________________________________________

Date:______________________________________________________________________

ST. BERNARD’S CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

 EMPLOYEE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES

1.0        Purpose

1.1        To provide St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School staff users with guidelines for proper use of the Internet.

2.0        Scope

2.1        This policy applies to all STBCCHS employees using St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School computers and/or equipment, or private home computers to access or in any way utilize the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School-provided Internet access and local network. The Internet defined as any provider of access to the technology network providing international computer - based electronic communication, with the capacity to share data. The Internet does include material that is not suited for the workplace. The intent of the STBCCHS is to use connections on the Internet only for reasons consistent with work purposes. Anyone who used the network illegally or improperly will lose the privilege of using it.

3.0        General

3.1        All STBCCHS Employees that have a valid Network User ID and Password will have access to the Internet through the STBCCHS Network. It is the responsibility of the employee, before accessing the Internet, to review and understand this document. 

3.2        The STBCCHS Administration and the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School administration will periodically review the issues that arise from employee use of the Internet. The issues addressed will be the potential liability of using FTP, the protocol for transferring files from one computer to another, HTTP, the protocol for linking between documents in the World Wide Web, Internet e-mail, and any and all other tools provided by the Internet and used by this school.

4.0        Policy

4.1        Use of the Internet is a privilege. The primary use of the Internet is for school-related and educational purposes only. Use of any St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School-supplied facility or equipment is subject to monitoring and review by the school, at its discretion. St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School administration may access and read employee Internet messages or review Internet Sites visited by employees at any time. Using this account in support of illegal activities is prohibited.

4.2               Access to the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School-supplied Internet connection is allowed from your home computer for personal research during non-working hours. 

4.3               Internet e-mail is sent and received via the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School Microsoft Exchange/Outlook e-mail system or a contracted third-party e-mail system.  STBCCHS provides Internet e-mail addresses for St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School communications.  It is acceptable to receive a reasonable amount of solicited Internet mail to the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School provided e-mail address.  If the employee wants private e-mail, a personal account with a local Internet service provider should be established at the employee’s expense.

4.4               There is potential copyright violation in using material downloaded from the Internet. If material has a copyright symbol, be on guard. If there are questions about what you can or cannot use, contact the Media Resource Center/Library before proceeding. All material downloaded from the Internet must be done so in a manner that respects the publishers’ copyright ownership.

4.5   Trademark policies must be adhered to. All STBCCHS domain names and trademarks are     property of the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School and the employee has no ownership rights in them.

4.6   You are responsible for protecting your computer and the networks from viruses that may inadvertently be downloaded from the Internet resources. You must use the current virus scanning software against any downloaded files.

4.7               Always observe proper Netiquette: the rules for polite correspondence on the Internet, common sense prevails.

4.7.1        The best advice: BE POLITE. This statement is an example of being

impolite, capitalization is considered shouting on the Net and very rude.

4.7.2        Do not Flame. Flaming is considered bad manners. Impolite messages, a

piece of mail, or a usenet posting which is violently argumentative or

people calling each other names is flaming.

4.7.3        Find out if a mailing list has a file known as FAQ. Frequently asked

questions may tell you more about the list and how it operates.

4.8               The Internet is to be considered unsecured and you must protect the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School’s proprietary information from compromise. You should refrain from sending sensitive information over the Internet. If you have any doubt as to whether an item should be put on the Internet, contact the technology staff or administration.

4.9               Various tools exist on the Internet to disperse and gather information. Misuse of these tools will not be allowed. It is forbidden to use any of the tools in this account to annoy others, including, but not limited to sending or receiving sexually explicit messages or graphics, discriminatory messages or other inappropriate activities. You are representative of St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School, when on the Internet and therefore have the ability to enhance St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School’s esteem or to damage the reputation of the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School or place the St. Bernard’s Central Catholic High School in an unfavorable position. Caution must be used when accessing any Internet tool including:

4.10             E-mail (electronic mail) - Sending and receiving messages with other people who have e-mail addresses.  There are also Mailing Lists that consist of a group of people who share ideas and information about a specific topic with electronic mail. Opinions or information should be cleared before posting.

4.11             Newsgroups - Like the mailing list, a newsgroup is a forum where people with common interests share information.  The World Wide Web (WWW) is also used as a forum. Opinions or information should be cleared before posting.

4.12             File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - The application that lets you transfer files, which can be, documents, photographs, even computer software - from a remote computer to your personal computer.  Ensure that copyrighted information is not used in an improper fashion.

5.0        Cautions

5.1   The employee employee is responsible for understanding and following these guidelines. Failure to comply with this policy may subject the employee to lose telecommunication privileges.

5.2   This Internet is a tool.  This policy gives general guidelines to the use of the Internet.  The intent of the district is to provide the tool to enhance employee productivity.  If the tool is abused, its use could be severely restricted or eliminated.

                        .

CONSENT AND WAIVER

By signing the Consent and Waiver form attached, I, the undersigned, agree to abide by the legal issues, above restrictions, and guidelines of this policy.

Further, I have been advised that STBCCHS does not have control of the information on the Internet. Other sites accessible via the Internet may contain material that is illegal, defamatory, inaccurate, or potentially offensive to some people.

STBCCHS makes no warranties with respect to the STBCCHS network service, and assumes no responsibilities for:

·         Content of any advice or information received from a source outside the STBCCHS, or any costs or charges incurred as a result of seeing or accepting such advice;

·         Any costs, liability or damage caused by the way an employee chooses to use his/her STBCCHS network access;

·         Any consequences of service interruptions or changes, even if these disruptions arise from circumstances under the control of STBCCHS;

While STBCCHS supports the privacy of electronic mail, employees must assume that this cannot be guaranteed.

By signing this form, I agree to the following terms:

·         My use of the STBCCHS network must be consistent with STBCCHS’s primary goals.

·         I will not use the STBCCHS network for illegal purposes of any kind.

·         I will not use the STBCCHS network to transmit threatening, obscene, or harassing materials. STBCCHS will not be held responsible if I participate in such activities. In fact, by completing this unit of instruction, I agree that STBCCHS is not responsible for such behavior on my part.

·         I will not use STBCCHS network to interfere with or disrupt network users, services or equipment. Disruptions include, but are not limited to, distribution of unsolicited advertising, propagation of computer worms and viruses, and using the network to make unauthorized entry to any other machine accessible via the network. I will print only to my local printer.

·         It is assumed that information and resources accessible via the STBCCHS network are private to the individuals and organizations, which own or hold rights to those resources and information unless specifically stated otherwise by the owners or holders of rights. Therefore I will not use the STBCCHS network to access information or resources unless permission to do so has been granted by the owners or holders of rights to those resources or information.

Name of STBCCHS Employee:_________________________________________________

Signature of STBCCHS Employee:______________________________________________

Date:______________________________________________________