“This week our advice is that you get the message to your boys that the cellphone or iPad, etc, belongs to you. You have given it to them to use, but you own it as you have paid and continue to pay for its monthly contract if it is a phone. This gives you the right to take it and inspect it at any time. We know that boys hide inappropriate content behind icons which you will not recognise. If an icon requests a password when it is clicked, it may not be what it appears!

Emma Sadleir, a social media expert, has excellent advice for our boys: when wondering about what is and isn’t appropriate to post on social media (or anything that you keep on your device), always bear the 5 Ps in mind and let them ask themselves if they are happy for these people to view their post: Principal, Parents, Police, Potential employer, Predator. "

Monitoring our boys’ devices when they are young is essential so that they are being taught to be sensible, safe, discerning and ethical. Parents give their children cell phones at varying ages, but I think it is important that a boy has a cell phone from Grade 7 or 8 so that you can monitor or teach him before he is too “old”.

As much as we advise that parents monitor, it is also important that we, the teachers, are monitoring school use.

Our Grade 7s leave for their KwaZulu-Natal Tour on Tuesday until the end of term. I am sure they will have a wonderful experience.

I wish all our Muslim families a happy and joyous Eid Mubarak.

Enjoy your weekend.