Internet Policy

Internet access is now available to students and teachers at St. Charles Borromeo School. We are very pleased to bring this access to St. Charles and believe the internet offers vast, diverse, and unique resources to both students and teachers. Our goal in providing this service to teachers and students is to promote educational excellence at St. Charles by facilitating resource sharing. innovation, and communication. The internet is an electronic highway connecting thousands of computers all over the world and millions of individual subscribers. Students and teachers have access to: 1)     electronic mail communications with people all over the world 2)     Information and news from all over the world (examples include the Library of Congress, NASA, the Internet Public Library, the        White House, the Smithsonian Museum) 3)     Public domain software and shareware 4)     Discussion groups on a wide variety of topics ranging from Chinese culture to music to politics to the environment With access to computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of a school setting. St. Charles has taken precautions to restrict access to controversial materials. However, on a global network it is impossible to control all materials and an industrious user may discover controversial information. We at St.Charles firmly believe that the valuable information and interaction available on this worldwide network for outweighs the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educationa goals of this school. Internet access is coordinated through a complex association of government agencies, and regional and state networks. In addition, the smooth operation of the network relies upon the proper conduct of the end users who must adhere to strict guidelines. The guidelines are provided here so that you are aware of the responsibilities you are about to acquire. In general this resource requires efficient, ethical and legal utilization of the network resources. If a St. Charles user violates any of these provisions, his or her use of the Internet will be terminated and any future use possibly could be denied. The signature(s) at the end of this document are legally binding and indicates the party (parties) who signed has (have) read these terms and conditions carefully and understand(s) their significance. Internet - Terms and Conditions 1) Acceptable Use - The purpose of NSFNET (National Science Foundation), which is the backbone network of the Internet, is to support research and education in and among academic institutions in the United States by providing access to unique resources and the opportunity for collaborative work. The use of the Internet must be in support of education and research and consistent with the educational objectives of St. Charles School. Use of other organization's networks or resources must comply with the rules appropriate for the network. Transmission of any materials in violation of any US or state regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret. Use for commercial activities is generally not acceptable. Use for product advertisement or political lobbying is also prohibited. 2) Privileges - The use of the internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in the cancellation of those privileges. Each student using the Internet will be informed as to the proper use of the network. The system administrator will deem what is inappropriate use and her decision will be final. Also, the system administrator may prohibit use at any time as required. The administration, faculty, and staff of St. Charles School may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or suspend use by a specific student. 3) Network Etiquette - You are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include, but are not limited to the following: a) Be polite. Do not get abusive in your messages to others. b) Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language. Illegal activities are strictly forbidden. c) Do not reveal your personal address or phone number or those of students or colleagues. d) Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to all the mail. Messages to or in support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities. e) Do not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by other users. f) All communications and information accessible via the network should be assumed to be private property. 4) St. Charles School makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. St. Charles School will not be responsible for any damages you suffer. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non deliveries, or service interruptions caused by the user's negligence, or omissions. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at your own risk. St. Charles School specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through the use of the Internet. 5) Security - Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you feel you can identify a security problem on the Internet, you must notify the system administrator. Do not demonstrate the problem to other users. Attempts to logon to the Internet as a system administrator will result in the cancellation of user privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to the Internet. 6) Vandalism - Vandalism will result in cancellation of privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user, Internet, or any of the above listed agencies or other networks that are connected to the NSFNET Internet backbone. This includes,  but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.