Some students excuse this behavior as "roasting" - and therefore, harmless in their eyes.
This behavior is NOT harmless and it is spilling over into the real word of school, both at recess and in our classroom. Students who are distracted by what others have said or texted to them or about them are less able to focus on our lessons while sitting in the same room with those same kiddos. It is interfering with your child's learning and with my teaching.
EMPATHY - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person - is not always a child's (or adult's) first response, but it's the one we are trying to foster here at Keppel.
Please carve out some time tonight to review what your child does and does not have access to from their (and your) devices. Make sure that your child/security settings allow you to review everything they are texting/posting, and review their online actions on a daily basis.
Then review with your child your family's rules for online behavior. These rules should be the same the rules for face-to-face interactions - if it's not acceptable to say something to someone standing in front of you, then it's not acceptable to text or chat it online.
Thanks in advance for your prompt attention to this important matter. As always, you may email me with your questions or concerns.