Educational Excellence Since 1912
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating students in PreSchool through Grade 12
Academics
Technology

Technology Acceptable Use Policy

We are pleased to provide students at Hamden Hall Country Day School access to computer facilities and a managed wireless network (HH WiFi) as a resource for educational purposes. These facilities exist in order to enhance educational opportunities by providing improved access to information, to increase opportunity for collaboration, and to heighten creativity and efficiency. Any use of Hamden Hall Country Day School's computing facilities, including the use of our wireless network and SMARTBoards, must be consistent with our school-wide Honor Code, centering on honesty, academic integrity, sportsmanship and stewardship. The use of technology by students must fall within acceptable use as outlined below.


Student Access Policy
All students have access to workstations in the library, in the computer labs, and in classrooms subject to the teacher's discretion. Computer usage times in the library and in the computer labs are subject to change depending upon class meeting times. Your user ID and password are necessary to authenticate to the Hamden Hall network and file server. In order to use a computer on campus, you must log in with your network username and password. If you forget your password or suspect that your password has been compromised, please notify a member of the Technology Department or one of the librarians.


Respecting Resource Limits
The Hamden Hall network is a finite resource. Therefore, the use of the school network, including the Internet, is limited to educational and career development activities. Streaming video and unusually large files should not be accessed for non-academic purposes in order to conserve bandwidth.

Email
Hamden Hall email accounts are granted to faculty, staff and students in grades 6 – 12. This Hamden Hall account is for academic use only and should not be distributed publicly or submitted to any mail lists, solicitation, or used to join social networking sites, including Facebook. This account should not be used to distribute spam, jokes, viruses, chain letters, etc. All passwords should be kept private. If you forget your password, or suspect that it has been compromised, please notify a member of the Technology Department or one of the librarians. Any abuse of the privilege of a Hamden Hall email account will result in appropriate disciplinary action. Email is a limited resource and should not be used as an archive for files (i.e. pictures).  Hamden Hall email accounts are property of Hamden Hall and may be subject to administrative monitoring without notice.

FileServer
Hamden Hall offers a fileserver and a centralized backup system for students, faculty and staff. Users must respect our resource limits and save only academic files to their Home Directory. We recommended unusually large files be saved in a cloud-based solution (e.g. GoogleDocs ). Please consult with a member of the Technology Department for further assistance with this.

Wireless Access Policy
We are pleased to offer students access to wireless internet . Personal laptops must be configured to connect to the secure wireless network. Please see a member of the Technology Department to set up an appointment for this one-time configuration. Your network user ID and password are necessary to connect to the Hamden Hall wireless network. Students are expected to adhere to the school-wide Honor Code while using HH WiFi.

Laptop/ Personal Electronic Use Policy
Laptops/ personal electronic devices can be useful tools for education. It is imperative that students who choose to use a laptop/ personal electronic device in class and in study hall do so in a fair and effective way to enhance their learning experience, while not disrupting the learning experience of others. Students should adhere to the following guidelines for using laptops/personal electronic devices in class and in study hall. Failure to comply with these rules could result in loss of privileges.
• Ask for permission before using laptops/ personal electronic devices in class or in study hall, and use only as directed and approved by the teacher or proctor.
• Arrange with the teacher or proctor the best place to sit in the classroom with respect to using an outlet, if necessary.
• Keep attention focused on the appropriate activity.

CELL PHONES/ MOBILE DEVICES

MIDDLE SCHOOL
The use of cell phones/ mobile devices (mobile tablets, e-readers, multimedia players, gaming systems, etc.) is not permitted during school hours without the permission of a faculty member.

UPPER SCHOOL
The use of cell phones/ mobile devices (mobile tablets, e-readers, multimedia players, etc.) is permitted during class and study hall with the explicit permission of a faculty member or study hall proctor. Adherence to the Honor Code is expected at all times. Cell phones/ mobile devices must be off or in silent mode at all times during the school day on the main campus. Talking on cell phones is prohibited at all times while in classroom buildings. Students may not wear headphones while traveling between buildings, however a student may wear them while in designated common student spaces (e. g. courtyard, library, student lounge areas).

Administrative Monitoring
Hamden Hall Country Day School reserves the right to log network, internet and email use. This means that the administration may, at its discretion, review the sites, programs and emails accessed by individual users. Such monitoring may be conducted without notice.


Student Responsibilities
Students are expected to follow the guidelines stated below as well as those given orally by the faculty, administration, and parents and to demonstrate ethical behavior in using computers on campus. The use of Hamden Hall computers implies agreement to respect the equipment and the rights of other users in accordance with the following rules:


Users should not:
• have food or drink near a computer
• play music or sounds that may disturb others (use earphones if necessary)
• attempt to gain unauthorized access to private information on a school computer
• use the Hamden Hall network to write or distribute viruses, spyware, malware, etc.
• use technology available for financial or commercial gain or for political lobbying.
• circumvent the internet filtering software to access blocked websites
• use the network to harass, cyberbully or discriminate against others
• use profanity, obscenity, discriminatory language, vulgarities and other inappropriate language or graphics on the network.
• reveal any personal, confidential or private information about other individuals.
• use the system to obtain inappropriate material
• violate any federal or state copyright laws
• plagiarize information that you find on the Internet
• violate any federal, state, local or common law, criminal statute or laws


Social Media Policy
Current research shows that many adolescents do not have a fully formed ability to grasp the implications of their digital behavior. As a result, we believe that parents should carefully consider whether their child is ready to use social media appropriately. A number of sites have age restrictions, and we feel that they should be observed. We know that the rapid pace of technological change often makes it difficult to keep abreast of the latest social media trends; however, we recommend that parents do as much as they can to engage their children regularly in healthy discussions about their recent online activity and proper social media etiquette.  During the course of the academic year, Hamden Hall will endeavor to educate students about responsible use of social media, but the school cannot monitor or control what occurs outside school hours. It is important for the safety of adolescents online that parents monitor their children's activity and discuss issues of internet safety at home.


Representation of Hamden Hall Country Day School
Even when not on the school network, students should represent Hamden Hall Country Day School in a manner that is consistent with our schoolwide Honor Code, centering on honesty, academic integrity, sportsmanship and stewardship. Students are expected to understand that their actions outside of school reflect directly on the entire school community and on each student. Users need to think carefully about what and how something is said. Follow the rule: Do not say something electronically if it would not be said in person. Information posted to the internet is persistent and replicable and can be forwarded, copied or traced. A piece of gossip, an insult or unflattering video will last forever on the internet. Users should be mindful of this.


Consequences
All violations of Hamden Hall Country Day School rules involving the use of computer facilities will result in the same disciplinary actions that result from similar violations in other areas of Hamden Hall life. Hamden Hall reserves the right to determine if an action not mentioned is inappropriate and subject to discipline.


Hamden Hall Country Day School

About Us

Hamden Hall Country Day School is a nurturing and inclusive community with a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.