Digital safety and wellness event to bring online security awareness to help parents prevent screen-based risks

By Lorraine Glowczak

As technology becomes a larger part of daily life – shaping how students learn, connect, and explore the world – the importance of understanding how to navigate it well has never been greater.

RSU 14 has scheduled a Digital Safety and Wellness
workshop for parents of students in Grade 5 through 12 at
6 p.m. Thursday Jan. 22 at Windham High School to help 
them understand today's online landscape and gain
practical tools for supporting their pre-teen and teen's
safety in an increasingly connected digital world.
COURTESY PHOTO    

To support families in building healthy, informed relationships with technology, RSU 14 will host a Digital Safety and Wellness workshop on Thursday, January 22, at 6 p.m. at the Windham High School library. The event’s focus is to help parents of students in Grades 5 through 12 better understand today’s online landscape and gain practical tools for supporting their pre-teen and teen’s safety in an increasingly connected world.

The event will be led by Christopher Fitzpatrick of Portland, who works in education and community outreach focused on helping parents build understanding around online safety and responsible technology use with confidence.

Fitzpatrick’s presentation will take “an honest and thorough approach to the difficult topic of online child exploitation and abuse. It will include an in-depth overview where the agent describes the threats and trends he and his colleagues see in their investigations.” He will discuss real world case examples to help attendees better understand how children and teens can be victimized online.

Other area schools have taken similar steps, either by hosting workshops led by Fitzpatrick or by developing their own programs through parent–teacher collaborations. These efforts have included digital citizenship workshops and community events designed to inform and empower parents with practical guidance on online awareness and safety.

Several RSU 14 educators have taken part in digital safety and awareness efforts beyond their own district, including Lindsay Hanson, Windham High School’s  Building Assets, Reducing Risks

(BARR) coordinator, and Jennifer Finck, an RSU 14 social worker.

Both educators have been involved as parents in digital awareness initiatives within the Gorham school community, where their own children attend. Hanson is active with the Gorham Alliance for Thoughtful Technology, which is a community group focused on promoting healthy technology habits. The alliance encourages families to delay smartphone and social media use while supporting play-based childhoods and real-world independence through community events and discussions.

Finck has attended multiple workshops and presentations, including sessions in Gorham that have centered on digital citizenship and youth technology use.

They, along with other RSU 14 social workers and district leaders including Assistant Superintendent Christine Frost-Bertinet, wanted to provide opportunities on digital safety and awareness to this district's parents in a way that supports families where they work.

Finck described the workshops she attended as eye-opening, offering clear and practical information for both parents and educators. She said the sessions highlighted concerning trends but also emphasized prevention and education.

“We learned about many opportunities to help empower families and provide meaningful support,” Finck said. “That’s what we want to bring to this school district—access to the same information and support.”

Hanson said a recent Gorham workshop focused on helping adults better understand both the risks associated with technology and the ways children can be supported in developing a healthy relationship with it. She emphasized the importance of play, independence, and introducing technology in age-appropriate ways.

“We need to empower kids to be independent people first,” Hanson said, adding that resilience, problem-solving skills, and mental well-being are built through real-world experiences. She also stressed the role adults play in making thoughtful decisions that support children as they navigate the digital landscape.

Hanson added that concerns surrounding youth technology is a collaborative effort. “This is a community problem, so there has to be a community solution,” she said.

She encouraged parents to work together around shared expectations, noting that when families align – such as agreeing to delay or limit certain social media platforms – students are less likely to feel isolated or pressured. She urged parents to connect with one another and form small groups to help lead and support these efforts within the community.

Frost-Bertinet said building safer digital habits starts with informed parents who understand the online world their children are navigating. Through parent education sessions, shared resources, and open conversations, the district aims to give families practical, up-to-date information — from how social media algorithms work to recognizing early warning signs of unhealthy technology use.

“When parents understand the risks and benefits of different platforms, apps, and devices, they’re better equipped to make thoughtful decisions that fit their child’s age, maturity, and their family’s values,” Frost-Bertinet said. “We’re not offering one-size-fits-all answers, but empowering parents with knowledge and tools.”

Frost-Bertinet emphasized that families should leave knowing their choices around screen time, access, and online safety matter – and that they don’t have to feel pressured by what others are doing. RSU 14, she said, is committed to being a partner in helping families navigate the digital age with intention and confidence.

Childcare will be available at the Jan. 22 event. Some material may be difficult to hear but the discussion will be handled with sensitivity. A future workshop will be offered for those parents of children under fifth grade. <

Windham High students practice real-world science through salmon spawning

By Lorraine Glowczak

The fishery on Mill Street in Raymond was swimming with hands-on science in late November as ecology and recently arrived immigrant students from Windham High School helped Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) scientists weigh, measure, and spawn Sebago Lake land-locked salmon from Panther Run.

Students from WHS experienced science at
work while helping Maine IFW spawn
salmon late last month. Here student Riley
Mobley presses eggs from a salmon while an
IFW field biologist looks on. 
PHOTO BY LINDSAY HANSON 

The students assisted IFW field biologists extract eggs from female salmon that were immediately fertilized by the male salmon. They helped to weigh, measure, and return the fish into the Sebago Lake watershed.

The aim of salmon spawning along the shores of Sebago Lake is to support Maine ecology and replenish healthy salmon numbers for fishing purposes. The late chilly November morning provided the students with an essential hands-on adventure, giving them a chance to see ecological purposes and science at work.

“When students graduate from WHS, we hope they are leaving with skills and practices of science that they can carry into any field they enter,” WHS science and ecology teacher Lindsay Hanson said. “The experience highlighted the importance of asking good scientific questions, analyzing and interpreting data, and constructing explanations in science.”

According to Hanson, the participating students observed these skills being used in a real way.

“We were able to listen to the IFW biologists discussing new trends they were seeing in this salmon population and posing new questions they would later investigate using the data they were gathering,” she said. “Scientific curiosity at work.”

It was also a special treat for the new Maine students from Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and France, who all had a chance to connect their learning about Maine outside of the classroom setting.

“It provided the opportunity to see how academic language and the content and skills they learn in school are used professionally,” Elizabeth Moran, RSU 14’s Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) said.

Moran also said that her students were excited to hold the fish, strip the salmon for fertilization, and help collect data.

“They enjoyed being a part of the actual process of helping to produce the next generation of salmon in Maine,” she said. “This kind of work is authentic and contagious, and it inspires students to learn in a creative and fun way.”

The spawning of salmon from Sebago Lake has been happening for many years and occurs every fall in conjunction with the fish’s natural cycle to swim upstream. In this case, into Panther Pond from Sebago Lake.

“During the second week of November, we open up the dam on Panther Pond to draw the fish up the river from Sebago Lake,” Stephen Twemblay, IFW Fish Culturalist supervisor said. “Since they can’t get through the dam, the salmon swim up a fish ladder into the fish hatchery. We then separate the male and female fish. Both are differentiated by fin clip class or fins clipped in different areas depending upon the year, denoting the age of salmon. We do this so we always know how old that fish is to provide the best genetic variable.”

After the eggs are spawned and counted, they are transported to the fish hatchery in Casco where they are incubated through the winter. In the spring, most of the salmon are returned to Sebago Lake to keep up with the demand for fishing. The rest of the eggs are sent to other hatcheries around the state and to other state agencies in the U.S. and Canada as needed.

This real-world experience was intended to show students the various ways that science plays a role in our lives.

“I always tell my students that loving science doesn't mean you need to be a scientist,” Hanson said. “There are environmental lawyers, policymakers, and computer engineers working in science-based companies, etc. Pairing an interest in science with a focus on another sector can be an avenue to explore. It is difficult for students to see how science incorporates into real-life situations or see what careers related to science might look like. Most scientists don't wear lab coats and it was great to see that scientists also wear Muck boots and go fish.” <