hard deadlines

In an e-mail to parents last night, Portsmouth High School principal Robert Littlefield announced the official start of the school's "Bring Your Own Device" program on Monday, Feb. 3. Here's the e-mail from Littlefield:

We are getting ready to take our bold new step into the future -- the launching of our Bring Your Own Device policy on Monday, February 3rd.

Essentially, we will open our WiFi to anyone with an Internet device on our campus. When used RESPONSIBLY, and for its INTENDED PURPOSE this will amount to an exciting way to enhance student learning.

I have attached a copy of our "Frequently Asked Questions About BYOD" for all students and parents.

Every student at Portsmouth High School now has a PHS email account. We have sent an important message to every student about acceptable use of BYOD. In order to use our WiFi, students must open their email, click on a Google link, and agree to follow proper procedures. They will have until the end of the day on Thursday, January 30th to get this done.

Parents: click on the following link to connect with the BYOD page on our school's website. [link]

If you DO NOT want your child to have access to the Internet on a personal device, please contact the main office by emailing the message to wentzelp@portsmouthschoolsri.org.

I want to be clear about some basic rules regarding BYOD:

1. All use is to be at the discretion of the teacher.
2. Access to the Internet must be through our filtered WiFi, no 3G, 4G, or hotspot access
3. Using the PHS WiFi is a privilege, not a right. It can be taken away for improper use.
4. No technology support is available for personal devices at this time. Students are responsible for their own devices.

We want our students to have the best learning opportunities possible. Therefore, we need everyone's cooperation if this to work.

As always, I welcome your questions and thoughts. Feel free to reply to this email to contact me.

Robert Littlefield
Principal

Download the BYOD guide (900K pdf)

Editorial note: Written from a PSD e-mail.

After breaking the story of the Portsmouth school district "Smartie snorting" memo, harddeadlines reached out to the doctor who was quoted, Dr. Oren Friedman, Associate Professor, Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Pennsylvania. We asked if he had specifically studied Smartie snorting and if he could comment on the incidence and prevalence of Smarties-related maggot infestation. Here's his unedited reply.

We did not do a study on this in particular....however...we often see patients with foreign materials in their noses which can cause a variety of problems -- even years after the insult occurs. I recently removed an oyster shell from a 27 year old woman who had no idea it had been there. when I showed her what was in her nose, she said "I'm going to kill them" -- she remembered that when she was 5 or 6 years old, her older brothers were playing with these shells when they were at the beach, and she believed they inserted it into her nose when she was asleep. Just a funny anecdote that relates to the fact that things placed in the nose can remain there for years and cause problems over the long term.

The sugar in smarties can irritate the nose acutely and over the long term. In addition to the local irritation from the foreign material and powder, over time, the smarties can lead to various overgrowth of bugs including viruses/fungi/bacteria. The quote regarding the maggots relates to the fact that when a foreign material, and especially a food, resides in the nose for a long period of time, infections may occur, worms may reside in the nose, even maggots may flourish in this environment -- and we have encountered such a problem in the past. Hopefully the thought of possible maggots in the nose will help dissuade children from snorting the smarties.

When asked in a followup if he had actually ever seen Smarties cause maggots, he replied, "just a possibility. i have seen maggots in the nose from other food products in general."

So, the one actual quoted source in the memo sent to parents describes the threat as only a "possibility." There's no way to verify the claims about respiratory arrest, laryngospasm, or leading to drugs.

I’m not questioning that this may be something that kids have tried — one source told me kids had been seen doing it on Tuesday. But I’m shocked at the sloppy, loopy, cut-and-paste content of the message that PMS sent home. Parents deserve better communication from those responsible for their children.

For pickup in other media, see Portsmouth Patch, EastBayRI, The Newport Buzz, TurnTo10.com, ABC6.com

Update: And...BoingBoing

Updates, 1/21 More pickup: BoingBoing again, Gawker, Washington Post, Daily Mail (UK), HuffPo (UK), CBS News

In an e-mail sent to Portsmouth Middle School parents this afternoon, someone in the administration sent a rather hysterical warning about the dangers of snorting Smarties, a story which has been popping up on the Net since at least 2009, when the Wall Street Journal decided to cover this horrifying epidemic.

[Subject] Important Health Advisory

A message from PORTSMOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOL

Important Health Advisory for Parents Regarding the Candy, Smarties

We have recently become aware of an unsafe, new trend among some of our middle school students - smoking or snorting the candy, Smarties. Our research has taught us this is a widespread phenomenon and is the subject of many You-Tube videos. To smoke Smarties, students crush the candies into a fine powder while it is still in its wrapper, tear off an end, pour the powder into their mouths and blow out the smoke. Some are able to put the powder into their mouths and blow it out their noses. Thus, they imitate a smoker’s exhale. To snort Smarties, students use a straw or a rolled up piece of paper to snort the fine, crushed candy powder up into their nasal cavities. .

The “benefit” for students engaging in this practice is unknown. However, the risks, associated with inhaling Smarties smoke or snorting Smarties, are many and include:

• Cuts- if the Smarties have not been finely crushed, pieces may act like razor blades cutting the tissue with which they come in contact.
• Infection – sugar residue may remain in the nasal cavity, sinuses and/or lungs. This residue may lead to infections, cough, wheezing, and possible respiratory arrest.
• Scarring of the nasal cavity – anything snorted can lead to scarring of the nasal passages. Also if a piece of the Smartie becomes lodged in the nasal cavity it may need to be removed by a specialist.
• Irritation of the lungs – smoking or snorting Smarties can lead to a smoker’s cough which can cause laryngospasms causing the voice box to spasm or close.
• Allergic reaction – if the child is allergic to sugar, snorting or smoking Smarties can lead to an immediate allergic reaction.
• Possible Maggots – Dr. Oren Friedman, a Mayo Clinic nose specialist, has cautioned that frequent snorting could even rarely lead to maggots feeding on the sugary dust wedged inside the nose.
• Precursor to future cigarette smoking and drug use – although there is no addictive piece to Smarties, the concern is this behavior may lead to cigarette smoking or snorting of drugs.

I have an e-mail in to the principal and school committee chair David Croston to find out the source of this information. It uses phrases like "our research," and makes an assertion about Smarties leading to snorting drugs which I think deserve some footnoting.

Coming up next: the danger of dihydrogen monoxide. It's a major component of acid rain, and it's in our children's drinking fountains at school!

Update: 7:11pm Portsmouth School Committee chair Dave Croston responds.

I can not address the PMS email or it's source. I became aware of this issue earlier today. I can say only that this behavior raises troubling issue of modeling. It would be fair to say snorting Smarties would not be normal behavior. I support the Middle School informing its parents first hand. I leave it to parents to have discussions with their own middle schoolers, as I have had with my sixth grade daughter. I fully support the open and rapid dissemination of this information to parents.

Update 2 Read my interview with the former Mayo Clinic doc on Smarties nose maggots. (Hint: Never actually saw them in a patient.)

Editorial note: WTF?

Tiverton and Smithfield schools will be getting a wireless network upgrade from Envision Technology Advisors, according to a press release from the Pawtucket company.

The contracts are part of the Rhode Island Department of Education's (RIDE) Wireless Classroom Initiative. Aimed at expanding wireless access in Rhode Island schools over the next two years, these contracts represent just a few of those that will be awarded as part of this $20 million initiative.

"We are very excited to have been awarded these two contracts and we look forward to working with the schools in these districts," says Michael Ando, Envision's COO. "These districts are two of the first in Rhode Island to announce their vendors of choice and we are thrilled that they have chosen to partner with Envision. As more school districts award their contracts in the coming weeks, we hope to be able to announce additional schools that will be working with Envision for this important initiative."

The contract for Tiverton covers the 5 schools in that district, while the Smithfield school district will bring wireless to six schools.

"I live in Smithfield and my two kids attend school there," says Envision's Director of Marketing, Jeremy Girard. "Knowing that Envision's efforts and expertise will help improve access to technology for students in their school, as well as others throughout our state, is a very rewarding feeling."

"As a Rhode Island company, we are proud to be included in an initiative that will make such a significant impact on the quality of education, and access to technology, provided in our schools," remarked Envison's CEO, Todd Knapp, when the company was first named a Qualified Vendor for this initiative. With the awarding of these contracts, he reiterated those feelings and added, "Work like this, which is both meaningful and rewarding, is what we love here at Envision. We can't wait to get started."

In addition to the contracts for these two school districts, Envision was also awarded a similar contract to install wireless for the Rhode Island Department of Education's main office. A total of 4 floors in the organization's Providence office will be set up for wireless access.

Editorial note: Written from a press release.