Teaching Fellow Students, the Importance of Cyber Security at St. Theresa Catholic School

Audrey and Rylie, Grade 7 students at St. Theresa Catholic School are sharing their knowledge of cyber security with fellow classmates. The two students have been participating in Ontario Tech University’s Cyber Security Girls Ambassador program, along with their teacher Mrs. Traynor since June 2019. 

“We are presenting a new theme on Cyber Security such as protecting your personal information, how to identify if websites are secure to use, online shopping, phishing and more to our class every month,” said Audrey. “Then we obtain feedback from our classmates via an Office 365 form or talk during recess to find out what they liked or didn’t like about the information presented.” 

The feedback received has helped the students create more games that allow their classmates to compete in a fun environment, while learning about internet safety. “Our class is more aware now,” added Rylie . “Students are often noting if a website doesn’t have the safety lock on it or they are looking to see if a site is secure or not.” 

The girls' next goal is to start sharing information with students in Grades 3 to 6 at their school to increase their awareness. 

“Audrey and Rylie are really driving this project in our school,” noted Mrs. Traynor, Grade 7 Teacher at St. Theresa Catholic School. “They are so engaged in sharing information and have become confident speakers. They are excited to start sharing their knowledge to others within our school in the new year.” 

Mrs. Traynor added, “Having a supportive network for both the teachers and the students, along with the ability to share ideas and information has been very powerful.” 

Audrey and Rylie s' knowledge is proving to be invaluable, as they help their classmates become responsible digital citizens.