Friday, October 22, 2021

NACCA Navigating Secondary School Workshops


NACCA presents a 2 Part Workshop via Zoom for parents/caregivers of Black students & Black students in Grades 7-11.

Session 1: October 22nd 

Session 2: November 26th

Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigating-secondary-school-tickets-179576838157

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Reflecting on Racism and Discrimination

 

Vaughan Public Libraries is hosting a monthly lecture series Reflecting On Racism and Discrimination. All trustees and educators are invited to attend this community event.  On Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 7:00 pm Superintendent Ricky Veerappan of the York Regional Police will speak about Community Policing.  Please register on Eventbrite:  Reflecting on Racism & Discrimination: Community Policing Registration, Tue, 26 Oct 2021 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite



Cyber Awareness Campaign - Helpful Tips

 

Welcome to Week 1-4 of the four-week K-12 Cyber Awareness Month (CAM) campaign, running from October 4 to 29, 2021.

This year’s campaign theme, “Cyber awareness as self-care”, has the objective of helping everyone in K-12 education – teachers, staff, students and parents – be safer and more secure online. The campaign provides resources to help everyone understand pertinent cyber threats and know a few simple steps to protect themselves, their workplace, learning space, and their devices.

The campaign is divided into weekly themes which highlight different aspects of cyber security, online privacy and online (cyber) safety, as all three areas are of equal importance to K-12. For each weekly theme, resources from multiple reputable sources are provided.

All listed resources are also available in French.

 October 4 to 8, 2021

Week 1:  Show your devices and accounts some love

 

Fortifying and locking down our devices and online accounts should always be a priority.

 

Our devices and accounts are what we use to stay connected, to create and publish content, access online services, and play games. They are the doors to our online presence. We use our devices to authenticate who we are, communicate through email, texting, social media, and other tools, and we also use our devices to store personal information locally or in the cloud.

 

Many of us have multiple devices and accounts. Some are personal and some are for work, and some personal devices may be shared with other family members. Keeping track of it all can sometimes be challenging but it is important to do so.

 

This week take stock of your user accounts and devices and learn how to better protect them. 

 

Topics and tips for Week 1 include:

 

Access the embedded links to find out more (links will take you to different websites):

 

  • Enable the strongest authentication tools available on your devices and online accounts (e.g. biometrics, multi-factor authentication, and strong passphrases or complex passwords).

·       Create a strong password or passphrase unique to each account. Best practices for passphrases and passwords.

·       Use MFA (multi-factor authentication) to add an extra layer of protection.

·       Enable biometrics such as fingerprints or facial recognition as an authentication factor.

·       If you have too many passwords to remember, consider a password manager.

 

Videos

 

The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:

 

Week 1a – Show your devices and accounts some love - Niko

 

Week 1b – Show your devices and accounts some love - Niko

 

 

Stay tuned for Week 2:  Paying attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections on Monday October 11th.



October 11 to 15, 2021

Week 2:  Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections

 

Safe and secure Wi-Fi connections are just as important as having secure devices and online accounts.

 

Nowadays most devices are connected to the internet through our home network, our school or office network, a data plan, or a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Many of the applications installed on our devices require an internet connection to access online services and function properly. Our devices will often look to connect to available Wi-Fi hotspots irrespective of whether that Wi-Fi connection is safe or not. It is up to the device user to ensure appropriate security and safety measures are taken when connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots or deciding not to connect.

 

Topics and tips for Week 2 include:

 

Access the embedded links to find out more (links will take you to different websites):

 

  • Secure your home network and actively managing it. Considering upgrading your network router every 3-5 years to take advantage of improvements in security features.
  • Take stock of devices connected to your home network and monitoring for unusual activity.
  • Setup a guest network for your friends and visiting family members to separate their access and activity from all your home devices.
  • Setup a separate network for your smart devices, so if compromises occur, the threat remains isolated from your personal devices that contain personal and sensitive information.
  • Kid-proof your home Wi-Fi network to make it safe for children.
  • Avoid untrusted public Wi-Fi access; use a personal data plan or personal hotspot or use a VPN when having to connect through an untrusted Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

Videos

 

The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:

 

Week 2a – Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections with Sam

 

Week 2b – Pay attention to your home network and Wi-Fi connections with William


October 18 to 22, 2021

Week 3:  Care for your personal information – it is valuable!

 

It is more important than ever to protect our personal information.

 

With personal devices, smart devices and the internet becoming a routine part of our lives, as we use them to work, learn, exercise, entertain ourselves and socialize, it is more important than ever to protect our personal information and teach our kids to develop habits that will make it part of their day-to-day routine. Like how children learn to be safe outdoors, children need to learn to be safe online.

 

Topics and tips for Week 3 include:

 

Access the embedded links to find out more (links will take you to different websites):

 

·       How to protect yourself from identity theft

·       Tips for protecting personal information

·       Quick privacy tips for parents

·       Privacy pursuit – Games and Activities for kids (NEW)

  • Familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of applications you use as some may be sharing your personal information with third-party organizations.
  • Avoid phishing attempts and online scams.

·       The 7 flags of phishing and the most common forms of phishing

·       How to shop online safely

·       How to use online banking securely

 

Videos

 

The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:

 

Week 3 – Care for your personal information, it is valuable with Niimi


October 25 to 29, 2021

Week 4:  Be mindful of your online presence and digital footprint

 

It’s important to manage your online presence and digital footprint!

 

This past year, kids have faced unique challenges, as many of their in-person activities have been replaced with an increased use of technology. This has resulted in an unprecedented increased online presence and digital footprint for most of us, adults, and kids alike.

 

Everyone should assume that what is shared online will remain online forever. Every action you take online, and information posted about you contributes to your “digital footprint” which can straddle our personal, student and professional lives. Improving our awareness of the traces of data we leave online and recognizing how our individual digital footprints vary can help to improve the protection of our data online.

 

Topics and tips for Week 4 include:

 

Access the embedded links to find out more (links will take you to different websites):

 

 

 

Videos

 

The CAM videos created by ECNO and the Ministry of Education are perfectly tailored to be played on school hallway/atrium TVs. With simple yet effective animations, and close captions/subtitles embedded into the videos, they can easily be played on repeat with no sound distractions. They can be found at the below links:

 

Week 4:  Be mindful of your online presence and digital footprint - Amara


Best Practices to Deter Coyotes

 Best Practices to Deter Coyotes

 

Food

Intentional and unintentional feeding (food habituation) will lead coyotes to associate humans with sources of food, which can result in negative interactions between coyotes, people and pets.

§                               Never feed or leave food out for a coyote.

§                               Remove potential food sources from yards, including birdseed, fallen fruit, and open compost. 

§                               Avoid feeding pets outside. If necessary, promptly remove bowls and any leftover food.

§                               Store garbage, compost, and pet food where coyotes and other wildlife cannot have access.

§                               Keep garbage in containers with tightfitting lids. Place containers curbside only on the morning of collection, rather than the night before.

§                               Do not leave food waste in City of Vaughan garbage receptacles in parks, as this may attract rodents which in turn may attract coyotes or other wildlife.

 

Water

Remove all standing water sources from properties, such as water bowls for pets and watering cans. Even backyard water features can serve as water sources to wildlife.

Shelter

Spring is denning and pupping season, when coyotes concentrate their activity around dens or burrows to shelter their young. To reduce attraction to private property: remove debris, dead brush and wood piles; cut long grass; secure any gaps in sheds, decks, crawl spaces or foundation walls; secure any outbuildings on the property.

Unattended Pets

To minimize risk to pets, never leave pets outside unattended and always keep dogs close on leash during walks. Free-roaming pets, especially cats, may attract coyotes into neighbourhoods. Preferred prey for coyotes consists of rodents (mice, moles/voles, rats, etc.), rabbits, birds, amphibians, and insects. They also feed on eggs, wild berries, fallen fruit, nuts, carrion, and any found food source (e.g. human garbage). While they may not distinguish cats from their preferred prey, coyotes do not consider dogs as prey. Off leash or unattended dogs can however be vulnerable if perceived as threats by coyotes, or with coyotes who are protective of their territory and pups (usually during breeding season).

Aversion Conditioning (Hazing)
Hazing is an activity or series of activities intended to reintroduce or reinforce coyotes’ natural wariness of humans, to discourage coyotes from entering areas where people are present (such as parks and yards), to discourage coyotes from directly approaching people and pets, and to increase awareness about coyote behaviour and involve the community in coyote management efforts.

Hazing involves generating loud noises, making humans appear larger by waving arms over head, pulling a grocery bag from your pocket and snapping it in the air, spraying water, shining bright lights, using motion sensors, or throwing objects near (but not at) the animal. It is important to continue hazing efforts until the animal leaves the area. We discourage residents from stopping to take photographs, as this only contributes to coyotes being less wary of humans.

The above strategies promote and support safety of residents, wildlife, and pets. The goal is to adjust the way that our communities coexist with nature while re-habituating coyotes to exhibit greater wariness of people, and to achieve community wildlife resiliency while ensuring public safety, as already achieved in municipalities across Canada.

Best regards,

 

Vaughan Animal Services

905-832-2281 | animal.services@vaughan.ca

Animal Services Shelter Location

70 Tigi Court, Unit 47, Vaughan, ON L4K 5E4

 

City of Vaughan I By-Law & Compliance, Licencing & Permit Services

2141 Major Mackenzie Dr., Vaughan, ON L6A 1T1

vaughan.ca