On Tuesday, January 28th Elwood Public Schools had a guest speaker come and promote awareness about human trafficking and social media awareness. A staff member from the Lexington Set Me Free Project came to speak to students grades 3rd-12th for most of the morning and finishing some in the afternoon.
She started in the morning presenting to grades 7th-12th about the dangers of human trafficking and social media awareness. It was told to the students about the dangers of accepting stranger friend requests and what they should do if they suspect harm might happen to them.
The next group of students she presented to was the 5th-6th graders. Here again she also talked about the importance of online safety and gave tips of how to stay safe when students are online. This group of students were able to share information about what they do online and how they stay safe.
To end her presentations, she talked with the 3rd-4th grades about how to trust online sites and what information they should ask themselves if something is true. This group of students in particular were interested in sharing their stories about how they are staying safe online and how to detect a credible site. The presenter also really emphasized to check the facts when the students hear something at home or from another friend to make sure they have the correct information.
Overall, the students enjoyed listening to the presenter from The Set Me Free Project talk with them and answer any of their questions about how to be social media safe and know the dangers of human trafficking. This was a great experience and reminder for both students and staff.