St. Francis Central Catholic School will present a sexual abuse prevention program, the Touching Safety program to our students by grade level sometime between November 28 and December 16. The creators of the Protecting God’s Children TM program developed the Touching Safety program. This program is provided to us by the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston, and is a part of our ongoing effort to help create and maintain a safe environment for children and to protect all children from sexual abuse.
There are six lessons in the series, two lessons being taught per year for a three year cycle. The two lessons that we will cover this year are Grooming: Recognizing Risky Adult Behavior Parts 1 & 2. In Part 1 of the lesson students learn about the types of behavior that may indicate that an adult is grooming the child or young person for something more than friendship. It also helps students learn to trust their own instincts about what is “okay” and what is “not okay”.
Part 2 of the lesson spends time reinforcing and building on the lessons from Year 2. This lesson deals with peer groups and other influences (including grooming by an abuser) that prevent children and young people from reporting inappropriate behavior. It also helps children and young people develop their own decision-making process to use in these situations.. For more information on the Touching Safety program, visit the VIRTUS Online™ website at www.virtus.org.
These scheduled lessons are being offered to all students at St. Francis. As a parent, you have the right to choose whether your student participates. If you have questions about the program or the lesson, please contact Mrs. Barb Been at bbeen@stfrancismorgantown.com.
If you determine that you DO NOT want your child to participate (in which case your child will be sent to an alternate classroom during these lessons), please complete the “opt out” form below and return it to your child’s teacher no later than Monday, November 21.