Cleaner involved in fake orgy prank at Gold Coast school wins compensation for sexual harassment
ABC News reported that school employees used a dishevelled bed, empty beer and wine bottles and condoms filled with cream to prank a school cleaner into believing they were cleaning up after a sex orgy. The cleaner felt humiliated having to clean up the scene thinking that he was cleaning up bodily fluids. He sued the Queensland State Government and two colleagues involved in the prank on the grounds of sexual harassment. Lawyers for the cleaner said that he was “horrified and subjected to great emotional stress”. The cleaner received a total of $156,051 in compensation.
Back to school: boarding school staff work hard to provide home away from home for rural students
ABC News writes of a boarding school welcoming new and returning students and easing the transition from their country home to a second home in a boarding school community. In some rural communities, back to school means travelling hundreds or thousands of miles to go and live at school.
Asbestos illegally dumped near primary school in Yagoona
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that a large pile of asbestos has been illegally dumped, close to a primary school in Sydney’s west. A spokesperson from the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council said that the approximately eight tonnes of fibro asbestos material was dumped less than 500 metres away from a school. The Council has commissioned an external contractor to safely remove the asbestos material.
Parents, not schools, are to blame for our education crisis
According to the Courier Mail, parents are to blame for Australia’s education crisis, not schools. Parents need to be more involved in their child’s education so they get the best outcomes.
USA: Swastikas, racist graffiti painted on Cincinnati high school
Cleveland.com reported that swastikas and racist graffiti were found on a Cincinnati high school building, leading parents to and state representatives to call for an investigation into the incident. The graffiti used racist and homophobic slurs and the word “Trump” was painted on the school.
USA: The best way to protect students’ personal data
Slate Magazine reported on a school district in Raytown, Missouri, which uses a spoof gym video for training with the serious purpose of safeguarding student information. The school district provides professional development classes for teachers, curriculum planning sessions and even parent-teacher conferences all based around cyber security. This cyber awareness has become part of the school culture because if student data is hacked it could just mean a test score, but it could be a social security number, disability information or any other personal information which could impose a serious impact on a child’s life.
UK: Concerns about CCTV cameras in school toilets
Itv news has reported that a Principal of a school in Newcastle has written about CCTV cameras installed in communal areas of the toilets. The school says it only installed the CCTV cameras after legal requirements and after safety concerns of pupils and parents in school toilet areas of the school. Parents are concerned for the privacy of their children.