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Steve & Kate’s Virtual: Online Camp Community Guidelines & Virtual Safety

We are beyond excited to bring you Steve & Kate’s Virtual this year!  We hope that it becomes a favorite resource for your family during this difficult time, and that it helps your kids whip up a personalized Steve & Kate Camp experience in their very own living room.

At Steve & Kate’s, we want every kid to feel welcome and ready to explore.  In order to create an environment that supports this, everyone who becomes a part of our online community agrees to follow some basic Community Guidelines and observe important Vnline Safety practices. 

Community Guidelines

At Steve & Kate’s Virtual, we celebrate the right that every child has to bring their “whole self” (including their race, nationality, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, religion or any other identity protected by law) to Camp and to be treated respectfully and feel included. To help ensure this, all members of our virtual community agree to follow these guidelines:

Everyone

Please always use respectful speech and conduct:

  1. one person speaks at a time
  2. please do not interrupt
  3. do not call someone a hurtful name, tease or make fun of them (including what they say, the way they talk or think, their clothing, their personal style and hair, etc.), or use other hurtful speech

Please make sure your Zoom background (both what can be seen on camera and what can be overheard by others) is appropriate for children.

Do not take pictures or make video or audio recordings or images of any Steve & Kate’s Virtual programs or participants.

Respect the fact that everyone is entitled to have their own point of view and way of living and learning, even if it is different from yours, as long as they express themselves respectfully.

Give everyone the benefit of the doubt, keep all feedback constructive, and assume that people have good intentions.

Parents/Guardians

Please always use respectful speech and conduct:

  1. one person speaks at a time
  2. please do not interrupt
  3. do not call someone a hurtful name, tease or make fun of them (including what they say, the way they talk or think, their clothing, their personal style and hair, etc.), or use other hurtful speech

Help your child get a basic understanding of Zoom (audio/video/raise hand/chat), so they can participate comfortably without assistance.

Ask your child to keep their camera on while they are participating (unless this would interfere with their learning style), at least long enough for a Staff Member to verify their identity for safety purposes

Be sure your child has adult supervision on premises; our virtual program is not a substitute for childcare/supervision.

Ensure your child has easy access to any materials they might need in order to participate in activities

Allow your child to participate independently in our activities, without you in the camera frame, unless they clearly need your assistance.

Be aware that we try to provide a safe space for kids to discuss what is on their minds, including some of the difficult issues our society is facing today.  As parents/guardians know, kids absorb their environments, so they are aware of these issues.  This summer, many kids want to talk about them.  We do not shy away from topics like these; instead, we use them as an opportunity to engage kids in discussing how the world can become a respectful, caring place for everyone.

Provide constructive feedback to Steve & Kate’s Virtual as appropriate

Campers

Please do not give anyone your password, phone number or address, email address, social media handles or usernames, or gamer tag information, or your location information and please do not ask anyone for theirs

Please keep your camera on whenever possible, and at least long enough for a S&K Virtual Staff Member to verify your identity.

Counselors

Will not take any audio, photo or video shots/recordings of Virtual activities or participants, other than as requested by the Camp for purposes set forth in our Terms of Service.

Will not post any images of campers on the web and will not post any camper projects.

Will only contact children individually through their parents/guardians, never directly.

Will not ask for or accept a child’s contact information or access Camp-provided contact information other than when specifically necessary for Steve & Kate’s Virtual program needs.

Will respond to parent/guardian inquiries promptly during Camp hours.

Steve & Kate Virtual

Will listen to constructive feedback and adapt where appropriate.

Will respond promptly to parent/guardian inquiries during Camp hours.  We can be reached at (415-223-0038) during those hours, and for all other inquiries, including outside of camp hours, please email us at virtualcamp@steveandkate.com

Virtual Safety

Steve & Kate’s Virtual

We take a number of steps to help ensure our site is only used by our members and that everyone who participates in S&K Online has a safe and respectful experience.  For more information, please see our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy and COPPA Notification.

Counselors

Will verify each child’s identity visually at least once during a session to ensure no unauthorized users are in our Virtual community.

Will remind children as needed of our Community Guidelines to ensure the Virual space remains a safe and welcoming place for all our campers.

Parents/Guardians

Please talk with your children about the dangers of surfing the Internet and the limits you are placing on what they are free to access.

Please discuss the dangers of providing any personal or private information on the Internet.

Please ensure your children know they should tell you about anything they experience online that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Here are some additional resources to help you teach your child how to use the Internet safely:

  1. Common Sense Media –Independent organization providing parents with age-specific information on internet safety and videos. Check out their Parent/Guardian Ultimate Guide to Zoom and Age-specific guide to safety online.
  2. Family Online Safety Institute – Non-profit international organization that helps make the online world safe for kids.  Lots of age-specific safety recommendations.
  3. Be Internet Awesome – Created by Google to teach kids safety and responsible online citizenship.

Campers

Please do not give anyone your password, phone number or address, email address, social media handles or usernames, gamer tag information, location information or other private information.

Please do not surf the Internet without adult supervision.